US ad spending increased 3.8% in the first half of 2010, according to new data from The Nielsen Company.
US Ad Market Reverses Long Drought
The US ad market, which faced six straight quarters of declines in ad spending, has seen a turnaround in 2010. In total, advertisers spent an estimated $54 billion during the first half of 2010.
Nielsen analysis indicates the increase in US advertising reflects a modest improvement in American consumer confidence in the first half of the year, as advertisers look to highlight value deals and increase promotions in the hopes of spurring consumer spending.
Automotive Drives Increase
A closer look at US advertising trends in the first half of 2010 reveals automotive was one of only a few bright spots in the top 10 product category ad spending. Overall, there was a 3 percent increase in the top 10 product categories, with the largest growth by far seen in automotive (+27%) and auto insurance (+23%).
All other categories, except department stores (+5%) and restaurants (+2%) showed declines in the first six months of the year. Wireless telephone services advertising by far experienced the biggest decline in spending (-14%), followed by direct products (-11%). All other declining categories in the top 10 had single-digit reductions in ad spending.
TV Up, Print Flat
Looking at ad spending across media types, US television (network, cable, syndication, spot, Spanish Language network and Spanish Language cable) continues to dominate, accounting for $33.8 billion in advertising during the first half of 2010, a 6% increase from the same period last year.
Spanish language network TV and Cable TV in particular saw the biggest gains, up 24% and 13% respectively from the first six months of 2009.
Print media overall (national and local magazines, newspapers, Sunday supplements and B2B) was flat. However, national Sunday supplements received a significant uptick with 20.5% growth from last year. National magazines were also up 7.4%.
Alternatively, local Sunday supplements and national newspapers declined 7.9% and 6.9%, respectively.
Kantar Records 6% Ad Spend Jump in First Half ’10
Total US advertising expenditures in the first six months of 2010 rose 5.7% from a year ago and finished the period at $63.57 billion, according to data based on different metrics released by Kantar Media. In addition, Kantar tracked ad spending during Q2 2010 as up 5.4% compared to last year.
