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NEW YORK: Advertising spends in the US rose by a meagre 1.5 per
cent in the first quarter of the year, says Nielsen Media Research.
The report says that ad spend declined in the case of network TV,
cable TV, syndicated TV and national newspapers each falling about
5 per cent, compared to the corresponding figures for the same period
last year. The report adds that TV gained from the Iraqi conflict.
The report states that local newspapers grew by 9 per cent; national
magazines in the US grew by 14 per cent and Hispanic TV grew by
a whopping 15 per cent.
Nielsen Monitor Plus report states that advertising spending increased
in six of the ten reported media, with growth rates ranging from
under 1 per cent to over 15 per cent.
Nielsen Monitor-Plus MD Jeff King was quoted as saying that 2003
is disadvantaged because the Iraqi war resulted in some preemption
of regularly scheduled shows and possibly contributed to a slowing
of the overall advertising growth rate.
The report also mentions that GM dropped 24 per cent of its budget
for Q1; Ford picked up its pace and increased its ad spend by 55
per cent for their Escape, Expedition, Explorer, and Lincoln Aviator
vehicles. The most significant growth was seen in the automotive
category which collectively spent more than $2 billion.
Other major contributors included Sony (up by 47 per cent) and
Walt Disney (up by 24 per cent). The report says that Sony and Disney's
growth was largely due to increased spending on motion pictures.
Sony's 2003 movies include Tears of the Sun ($22 million
in advertising spending), National Security ($17 million),
Darkness Falls ($18 million), and Adaptation ($9 million),
while Disney's increase is largely due to spending on Recruit
($23 million), Shanghai Knights ($21 million), Chicago
($19 million), and Gangs of New York ($11 million).
The report adds that spending by the top 10 categories, which were
also the largest categories last year, was $5 billion dollars for
the first three months of 2003 (up 5 per cent).
Brand advertising slightly decreased. Also notable from the category
perspective was last year's high-flyer, pharmaceuticals, which increased
only two percent.
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