US Ad Spending Increased 0.8% in 2011

According to Kantar Media, total advertising expenditures in the U.S. rose 0.8 percent in 2011. However, year-over-year spending actually declined in the fourth quarter.

Total U.S. ad spending increased 0.8 percent in 2011, finishing the year at $144 billion, according to Kantar Media. Ad spending during the fourth quarter of 2011 declined 1.0 percent year-over-year, the first quarterly decline since the end of 2009.

The dip in the fourth quarter marked the fifth consecutive quarter that ad spending growth rates have slowed.

“The contrast of resilient TV spending and waning budget allocations to other traditional media was plainly evident at the end of 2011,” said Jon Swallen, senior vice president of research at Kantar Media Intelligence North America. “Some mature digital media formats were also touched by the year-end tide of reduced spending. Whether this is an isolated occurrence or an early sign of digital dollars moving more quickly towards emerging and unmeasured digital platforms bears watching as 2012 unfolds.”

For 2011 as a whole, Television Media saw ad spending rise 2.4 percent year-over-year, driven mostly by Cable TV (+7.7 percent), Spanish Language TV (+8.3 percent) and Syndication – National (+15.4 percent).

Internet Media saw spending increase 0.4 percent in 2011, driven by a 5.5 percent increase in display ad spending. Paid search spending declined 2.8 percent in 2011.

Magazine Media saw spending decline 0.4 percent in 2011, though Spanish Language Magazines saw spending surge 24.9 percent.

Newspaper Media saw spending decline 3.7 percent in 2011, while Radio Media saw spending decline 0.6 percent. Outdoor ad spending rose 6.5 percent in 2011, while Free Standing Inserts (FSIs) saw spending decline 4.3 percent.

Procter & Gamble Co. was the top advertiser of 2011, with $2.95 billion in spending. AT&T Inc. followed with $1.92 billion, General Motors Corp. with $1.78 billion, Verizon Communications with $1.64 billion and Comcast Corp. with $1.58 billion.

Of the top 10 advertisers of 2011, only Comcast Corp. (+11.3 percent), L’Oreal SA (+18.1 percent) and Time Warner Inc. (+5.8 percent) increased spending from their levels in 2010. Overall, the top 10 advertisers spent $16.1 billion in 2011, down 2.8 percent from the $16.5 billion spent in 2010.

The top Internet advertiser of 2011 was IAC/Interactivecorp with $316 million in spending, followed by Experian Group LTD with $278 million in spending, General Motors Corp. with $271 million in spending, AT&T Inc. with $246 million in spending and Progressive Corp. with $240 million in spending.

In total, the top 10 Internet advertisers of 2011 spent $2.36 billion, up 10.0 percent from the previous year.

Source:

http://www.kantarmedia.com/sites/default/files/press/Kantar_Media_2011__Q4_US_Ad_Spend.pdf