Total advertising expenditures in the first six months of 2011 increased 3.2 percent from a year ago and finished the period at $71.5 billion, according to Kantar Media, the strategic advertising and marketing information provider. Spending growth eased slightly during the second quarter and was up 2.8 percent compared to last year.
“Advertising grew at a slower rate in the second quarter, contributing to speculation about the durability of an advertising recovery that is into its second year,” said Jon Swallen, SVP Research at Kantar Media North America. “Key ad spend indicators are painting a mixed picture. On one hand, a majority of media types actually improved their performance from Q1 to Q2. On the other, spending growth for the Top 100 advertisers stalled in Q2 and the ad market became more dependent on the comparatively smaller budgets of mid-sized advertisers as the main source of growth.”
From the report:
Measured Ad Spending By Media Internet media accounted for more than one-half of the dollar gain in total ad expenditures during the first six months of the year. Display spending jumped 12.9 percent and search investments rose 8.6 percent as each benefitted from a surge of money from the travel, local service and insurance categories.
Percent Change in Measured Ad Spending
Jan-June 2011 vs 2010 per Media Type (Source: Kantar Media)
Measured Ad Spending By Category Expenditures for the ten largest categories grew 4.8 percent in the first half of 2011 to $40,982.7 million. Automotive was the top category with $6,870.2 million of spending in the six month period, up 9.3 percent. However, after a torrid first quarter auto marketers hit the brakes and Q2 expenditures inched forward by only 0.8 percent. It was a complex environment with Toyota and Honda suffering postearthquake inventory disruptions; wavering consumer confidence; reduced marketing incentives from manufacturers; and a slowing rate of new vehicle sales across the industry.
Top Ten Advertising Categories of Jan-June 2011 (Source: Kantar Media)
For the full report and more statistics, visit Kantar Media.
