US direct response short-form TV advertising spending decreased 5.8% year-over-year to $4.5 billion in 2010, according to a March 17 Kantar Media report. Conversely, industry-wide US advertising expenditures increased 6.5% in 2010, compared with the prior year, to $131.1 billion, according to the New York-based media measurement firm.
TV media spending, which increased 10.3% in the US in 2010, grew more than any other sector, compared with 2009. Spot TV expenditures increased the most within that sector, jumping 24.2% in 2010 due to the biennial surge in political advertising, a revived automotive category, and a pronounced budget allocation spike among retail bank advertisers, according to the report.
“Short-form stuff got bumped this year,” said Jon Swallen, SVP of research at Kantar Media, and the author of the report. “The remaining stuff that did run, even at a higher price, couldn’t make up the difference [from last year].”
Internet display advertising increased 9.9% compared with the prior year, the second largest growth rate among media sectors. Outdoor advertising increased by 9.6% year-over-year.
“The good news is spending is up 6.5%,” said Swallen. “The bad news is only TV has recovered the losses of 2009. There’s still more room to go to get back to where we were two years ago.”
Swallen said he wasn’t sure if 2011 numbers will equal pre-recession spending, but he added that “looking at the trend line, things are headed in the right direction.”
Spending among the 10 largest advertisers in 2010 reached $16.3 billion, a 3.7% increase compared with the prior year. For the eighth consecutive year, Procter & Gamble topped the list, having spent $3.1 billion, a 17.7% increase compared with 2009.
“P&G is in a good position right now,” said Swallen. “I don’t think it’s likely for them to move down [the list]. Their biggest rivals have been in telecommunications and auto, and spending seems to have peaked in [both].”
L’Oréal posted the largest rate of increase among the top ten, with expenditures growing 30.6% to $1.1 billion. The company boosted marketing support broadly across its portfolio of mass market and prestige cosmetics brands, according to the report.
Both Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson reduced spending in 2010, down 11.7% to $1.2 billion and 7.5% to $1.1 billion, respectively.
Expenditures for the 10 largest advertising categories increased 6.5% in 2010, totalling $74.1 billion. Automotive leads all sectors by dollar volume and growth rate, totalling $13 billion and increasing 19.8%. Telecom was the second largest category with 2010 budgets increasing 4% to $8.8 billion.
