U.S. Advertising Spending Up 0.6% in 2007, Internet Ad Spend Up 18.9%

U.S. advertising spending in 2007 rose just 0.6 percent from 2006 - much lower than in other regions - but internet ad spend continued to demonstrate the strongest performance (18.9 percent growth) of any media category in the U.S., according to Nielsen, writes MarketingCharts.

Other media categories showing increases in ad spend were National Magazines (7.6 percent), Outdoor (7.2 percent), National Sunday Supplements (4.9 percent), National Cable TV (2.2 percent), and Spanish-Language TV (1.5 percent) according to preliminary figures from Nielsen Monitor-Plus. (See table of ad spend growth by medium, 2007 vs. 2006).

“Several traditional media…are demonstrating resilience and strong growth in an overall softening economy, with Outdoor continuing a five-year steady climb in advertising spending,” said Nielsen Monitor-Plus Director of Product Development and Marketing, Annie Touliatos.

U.S. ad spend growth was substantially lower than in Asia-Pacific, which reported a 12.1 percent increase, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), up nearly 5 percent, Nielsen said. In particular, newspaper ad spend has steadily declined in the US, whereas in all other countries measured growth was reported for the category.

Below, additional findings issued by Nielsen.

Top Advertisers by Spending

See table of top advertisers, 2007.

Among the highlights:

• Advertising spending across monitored media for the top 10 companies in 2007 reached $17.9 billion, down an average of 4 percent from 2006.
• Seven out of the ten advertisers decreased budgets. The three companies that increased their spending were Procter & Gamble and Verizon Communications (6 percent each), and AT&T (2 percent).
• Procter & Gamble, the largest advertiser and also the advertiser with the largest increase in budget (up $205 million), boosted spending for many brands:
  • Pantene Pro-V Hair Care Products, Gillette Fusion Razor-Electric Power, Cover Girl Volume Exact Mascara, and Olay Definity Moisturizing Facial Deep Penetrating Foaming.
  • P&G also introduced new brands, among which Secret Clinical Strength Antiperspirant/Deodorant Advanced Solid had the largest advertising budget.
• In contrast, General Motors showed the largest advertising spending decline in dollar terms (down $267 million). In 2007, GM cut back on advertising for Chevrolet Tahoe Trucks, GMC Yukon Trucks, Buick Lucerne Autos, and Hummer H3 Trucks, among others.

Category Spending

View table of top advertisers by category.

Among the highlights:

• Spending for the 10 largest product categories reached $44.6 billion in 2007, 3 percent less than in 2006. In all, six categories showed decreased spending in 2007.
• The top category in terms of total dollars, Automotive, also had the greatest dollar and percent decline (-$1.48 billion; -11 percent).
• Financial/Investment Services had the fastest percentage growth (+14 percent), while Wireless Telephone Services had the greatest dollar increase (+$422 million).
• Within the Financial Services category, FMR Corp. was the top spender ($220.7 million), followed by Scottrade Inc. and Wachovia Corp., each with a budget of $119 million.
• In the Wireless Product category, Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. were the top two advertisers in terms of total spending for 2007, each with a budget of $1.2 billion.

Product Placement

Broadcast Network Product Placement (See table of top 10 programs.)

Among the highlights:

• Nielsen Product Placement Service reported an overall 13 percent increase in the number of product placement occurrences in primetime broadcast network programming for 2007.
• The Top 10 programs featured 25,950 occurrences in 2007, compared with 22,553 occurrences in 2006.
• “American Idol,” with 4,349 occurrences, was the No. 1 show in terms of the number of product placements in 2007; the show held the same position in 2006, when it aired 4,086 brand occurrences.
• The top 10 featured brands on primetime broadcast network television for 2007 accounted for 11,666 occurrences; in comparison, the top 10 brands accounted for 10,320 occurrences in 2006.
• Coca-Cola, primarily through its association with “American Idol,” was the top brand in both 2206 and 2007, with 3,174 occurrences in the last year.
• 24 Hour Fitness Centers (1,931 occurrences) and Chef Revival Apparel (1,257 occurrences) rounded out the top three brands on Broadcast television in 2007.

Cable Network Product Placement (View table of top 10 programs.)

Among the highlights:

• Nielsen Product Placement Service reported an overall decrease of 9 percent in the number of product placement occurrences in primetime cable network programming for 2007, based on the cable programs tracked on A&E, Bravo, HGTV, MTV, and TLC.
• The Top 10 programs featured 163,737 occurrences for 2007 - compared with 206,054 occurrences for 2006.
• “American Chopper,” which premiered on TLC in January 2007, was the No. 1 cable network show in terms of the number of product placements, with 52,503 occurrences.
• “Miami Ink” (TLC, 20,594 occurrences) and “Dog the Bounty Hunter” (A&E, 19,179 occurrences) held the second and third positions.
• The Top 10 featured brands on primetime cable network television for 2007 accounted for 43,475 occurrences - a decrease from 53,530 in 2006.
• Three apparel categories made the top 10: Orange County Chopper Apparel (the top brand overall with 9,772 occurrences), Nike Apparel (3,002 occurrences), and DeVille (2,557 occurrences).