Global ad spend mounts by 3% in 2008

Posted by Alisa Zykova on January 16, 2009 at 8:43 PM

Global advertising expenditure rose by 2.9 percent between July and September 2008 compared to the same period in the previous year, the latest data from Nielsen Media Research shows, Brand Republic reported Friday.

The trend was spurred by the Asia Pacific region, which saw a 7.8 percent increase in ad spend. In the region, the rise in ad spend was seen largely across China (with 16.9 percent), Indonesia (with 16.7 percent) and Hong Kong (with 13 percent).

Meanwhile, the Beijing Olympic games and the U.S. presidential elections saw the North American market see a 3.1 percent escalation, according to Brand Republic. While six of the 10 European countries surveyed by Niemsen's Global AdView Pulse reported a growth in the last quarter of 2008 year, Europe saw an average decline of 5.9 percent.

"Many of the countries covered in the report appear to have been weathering the early tremors of the escalating global economic crisis," said Global AdView's Deputy Managing Director Michele Strazzera, according to Brand Republic. "In Europe, however, advertisers appear to be taking a more cautious approach, with the effects of existing economic challenges taking their toll on the region's ad spend, particularly in Spain and Turkey."

Print media outlets lost almost 2 percent to TV in the given time period. The analysis showed that TV had an 8.1 percent year-on-year increase in the third fiscal quarter of 2008, although the sector saw a 6.6 drop in ad spend across Europe,Brand Republic reported.