Ad Spending Up 4% in 1Q: Nielsen Report

China Now World’s Fastest-Growing Advertising Market

By Larry Barrett -- Multichannel News, 7/21/2008 12:15:00 PM

Global advertising spending rose more than 4% in the first quarter of 2008 despite a variety of economic woes impacting economies from the U.S. to Europe, according to The Nielsen Co.’s latest Global AdView Pulse report.

In the period from January to March 2008, ad spending in Africa grew by over 16% and the Asia-Pacific region recorded almost 10% growth, according to the report. However, ad sales growth in North America inched up only 1% in this same period while advertising spending in Europe actually slipped almost half a percent.

Globally, healthcare vendors retain the majority share of ad spending, with just over 10% of all advertising activity. With 9% of global consumers ranking their health as their biggest concern today, Nielsen expects this figure continue to rise.

Television remains the highest-grossing medium for advertising spend, recording a 6.9% yearly growth rate globally and growth in every region, Nielsen said. Television currently accounts for 60% of global ad spend. Newspapers, representing almost 24% of spend, remained flat (0.4%) and magazines showed a slight decline globally (-0.9%).