by Tatiana Repkova

TNS Media Intelligence’s 2007 advertising forecast shows a 5.4 percent increase in Hispanic media in the US over 2006. Hispanic media in the US will represent 3.3 percent of total advertising spend in 2007, compared with the estimated 3.2 percent spent on Hispanic media last year. Total US advertising spending is expected to increase a more modest 2.6 percent in 2007, to $153.7 billion. "The Hispanic market is continuing to look very strong," said Steven Fredericks, president and ceo of TNS Media Intelligence. "The overall outlook for 2007 is relatively conservative at 2.6 percent, and the growth forecast for Hispanic media is more than double that. Lack of major advertising events in 2007, such as the Olympics or an election year – or the World Cup, which contributed significantly to 2006 spending in Hispanic media — as well as a slow-down in general economic growth, were cited by Fredericks for the tepid overall growth. Adspend among key categories such as automotive, retail, travel and health and beauty is forecast to be slowing as well. Furthermore, Fredericks said, the percentage of ad budgets going to digital media is growing faster than any other category, but due to lower unit costs it is keeping down price inflation. The Internet and Spanish-language media will continue to grow at a faster rate than the other media categories, Fredericks said, referring to their intrinsic strength. www.tns-mi.com; http://www.fipp.com/Default.aspx?PageIndex=2002&ItemId=13541; 23 January 2007