MAM
US ad spend to grow by 2.7 per cent: TNS
MUMBAI: Total US ad spending is expected to increase 2.6 per cent in 2007 to $153.7 billion, according to the full-year forecast released by TNS Media Intelligence which provides strategic advertising and marketing information.
This anticipated tepid gain is the smallest since the media economy emerged from its 2001 recession and follows estimated advertising spending growth of 3.8 per cent in 2006.
Ad expenditures are forecast to increase by just gain of 3.2 per cent in the second half, paralleling an expected late year uptick in overall economic activity.
TNS Media Intelligence president and CEO Steven Fredericks says, “Our outlook for 2007 is tempered by the absence of two biennial advertising events, the Olympics and federal elections, which tend to contribute an incremental 80-100 basis points to growth rates. More significant, we expect share of total ad spending will continue to shift away from the top 100 marketers, as media fragmentation enables more brands with smaller media budgets to participate in the market, while concurrently helping dampen media price inflation.
“Based on our forecast, 2007 is poised to be the third consecutive year in which the advertising sector more closely tracks growth in real GDP as opposed to its historical reference mark of nominal GDP. The forces driving this new pattern appear to be sustaining and there is little reason to believe a return to the old order will be forthcoming.”
Internet display advertising is expected to continue growing at double-digit rates in 2007 with syndication TV, outdoor and magazines also exceeding the overall market average. Network TV is projected to be almost flat versus 2006, while newspapers and spot TV are expected to experience outright declines in ad revenue.
Brands
Apple bites back: the $599 MacBook Neo is the cheapest Mac ever made
The tech giant unveils a budget laptop that packs a punch — and a lot of cheek
CALIFORNIA: Apple has never been shy about charging a premium. So when Cupertino rolls out a MacBook at $599 (approx. Rs 55,000) , it’s worth sitting up straight.
The MacBook Neo, unveiled Tuesday, is Apple’s most affordable laptop to date — undercutting its own MacBook Air and taking a sharp swipe at the budget PC market in one fell swoop. It starts at $499 for students, which, for a machine with Apple silicon inside, is frankly a steal.
At the heart of the Neo is the A18 Pro chip — the same muscle that powers the latest iPhones. Apple claims it is up to 50 per cent faster for everyday tasks than a rival PC running Intel’s Core Ultra 5, and three times quicker on on-device AI workloads. Fanless and featherweight at 2.7 pounds, it runs silently and promises up to 16 hours of battery life. Try doing that on a Chromebook.
The 13-inch liquid retina display clocks in at 2408-by-1506 resolution with 500 nits of brightness and support for billion colours — sharper and brighter, Apple says, than most rivals in this price band. It comes dressed in four colours: blush, indigo, silver, and a zesty new citrus, with matching keyboard shades to boot.
Connectivity is modest — two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 6 — but this is a budget machine, not a pro workstation. The 1080p FaceTime camera, dual mics with directional beamforming, and Spatial Audio speakers round out a package that punches well above its weight class.
Apple senior vice-president of hardware engineering John Ternus alled it “a laptop only Apple could create.” That’s the kind of line that makes rivals wince — because, annoyingly, he might be right.
The Neo runs macOS Tahoe, with Apple Intelligence baked in for AI writing tools, live translation, and the sort of on-device smarts that keep user data away from the cloud. It also boasts 60 per cent recycled content — the highest of any Apple product — for those who like their bargains with a side of conscience.
For $599, Apple isn’t just selling a laptop. It’s selling an argument — that good design and real performance needn’t cost the earth. The PC industry had better have a decent comeback ready.
