U.S. Advertising Spending Drops –0.1% for First Three Quarters of 2007, Nielsen Reports

December 20, 2007- New York, NY- The Nielsen Company today reported that advertising spending for the first three quarters of 2007 decreased –0.1% over the same period last year, with Internet continuing to demonstrate the strongest performance (+15.9%) of any category. (For all tables referenced in this release, please view Full PDF Download of release).

According to preliminary figures from Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the leading provider of competitive advertising information, in addition to Internet advertising, other categories that showed an increase during the first three quarters of this year were: National Magazines (7.7%), National Sunday Supplements (6.0%), Outdoor (5.7%) and National Cable TV (1.2%). (Refer to table "First Three Quarters 2006 vs. First Three Quarters 2007 % Change" in Full PDF Download of release.) 

Advertiser Spending
Advertising spending across monitored media for the top 10 companies in the first half of 2007 reached $30.5 billion, down an average of 6.3% from the same time period in 2006.  Eight out of the ten advertisers decreased budgets.  General Motors continues to show the largest decline. (Refer to Advertiser Spending table in Full PDF Download of release.) 

Category Spending
Spending for the 10 largest categories reached $20.8 billion in the first three quarters, 2.3% less than the same period last year.  Most product categories have decreased their ad spending, with the exception of Pharmaceuticals, Wireless Telephone Services, and Direct Response Products.  The top category in terms of increased ad spend was Wireless Telephone Services at 7.3%--  Verizon Wireless was the top brand in terms of total ad spending for this time period in the wireless product category at $449.2 million, and AT&T Wireless second at $402.5 million in ad spend. (Refer to Category Spending table in Full PDF Download of release.) 

Product Placement

Broadcast Network Product Placement
Nielsen Product Placement Service reports an increased number of product placement occurrences in prime-time broadcast network programming for the first three quarters of 2007, based on its Top 10 Programs Broadcast Network ranking (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW & MyNetworkTV tracked).  The Top 10 programs featured 22,046 occurrences compared to 19,125 occurrences for the same time period last year.  “American Idol” is once again the #1 show in terms of the number of product placements, a position it held last year.  During the first three quarters of 2007, American Idol featured 4,349 product placement occurrences.

The Top 10 featured brands on prime-time broadcast network television for first three quarters of 2007 accounted for 9,198 occurrences.  A slight increase compared to the same time period last year when 9,181 brands were reported.  Coca-Cola, primarily through its association with “American Idol,” was the top brand once again, with 3,111 occurrences for this time period.  Chef Revival apparel placed second with 1,256 product placements—Chef Revival Apparel outfits the cast on Fox's reality program “Hell’s Kitchen.”

Cable Network Product Placement
Nielsen Product Placement Service reports a decrease in the number of product placement occurrences in prime-time cable network programming for the first three quarters of 2007, based on its Top 10 Programs Cable Network ranking (A&E, HGTV, MTV, TLC, BRAVO
tracked).  The Top 10 programs featured 136,078 occurrences for the first three quarters of 2007 vs 160,118 occurrences for the first three quarters 2006.  “American Chopper,” which premiered in Jan 2007, is the #1 cable network show in terms of the number of product placements, with 41,657 occurrences.

The Top 10 featured brands on prime-time cable network television for the first three quarters of 2007 accounted for 37,933 occurrences.  A decrease compared to the same time period last year, when 41,493 occurrences were reported.  Orange County Chopper apparel was the top brand with 8,030 occurrences for the first three quarters of 2007. (Refer to tables "Top 10 Programs: Product Placement Broadcast Network First Three Quarters 2007", "Top 10 Brands: Product Placement Broadcast Network First Three Quarters 2007", "Top 10 Programs: Product Placement Cable Network First Three Quarters 2007", and "Top 10 Brands: Product Placement Cable Network First Three Quarters 2007" in Full PDF Download of release.)

About The Nielsen Company

Nielsen Monitor-Plus is a service of The Nielsen Company, a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

 

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