U.S. Advertising Spending Declines 0.5% in First Half 2007, Nielsen Reports

U.S. Advertising Spending Declines 0.5% in First Half 2007, Nielsen Reports

NEW YORK, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nielsen Company today reported that advertising spending for the first half of 2007 was down 0.5% over the same period last year, with Internet spending showing the strongest performance (+23.6%) of any category.

According to preliminary figures from Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the leading provider of competitive advertising information, advertising spending was mixed across media with gains in some categories and declines in others. In addition to Internet advertising, other categories that showed an increase during the first half of this year were: National Magazines (8.4%), National Sunday Supplements (6.5%), Outdoor (5.1%) and Spot TV Markets 101-210 (3.2%).

"Even in this soft market outdoor ad spending continues to show strength. This traditional medium has embraced technology and is offering more and more digital and interactive advertising opportunities," said Brian Lane, Senior Vice President of Client Strategy & Product Development for Nielsen Monitor- Plus. "National magazine ad spending is also on an upswing with increased rate card ad revenue reported for the first half of 2007."

   Media Category                              First Half 2006 vs.                                               First Half 2007                                                   % Change    Internet*                                          23.2%   National Magazines                                  8.4%   Nat'l Sunday Supplements                            6.5%   Outdoor                                             5.1%   Spot TV Markets 101-210                             3.2%   Spanish-Language TV                                 0.2%   Cable TV                                           -0.3%   Spot Radio                                         -1.8%   Network TV                                         -3.8%   Spot TV Markets 1-100                              -4.6%   Local Sunday Supplements                           -4.7%   Local Magazines                                    -5.2%   B-to-B Magazines                                   -5.7%   Nat'l Newspaper                                    -5.9%   Local Newspaper                                    -8.0%   Network Radio                                      -8.5%   Total Advertising Spending                         -0.5%    Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus   * Internet data provided by Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance    Notes:  

- Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance service estimated online advertising expenditures account for CPM-based image-based advertising. All reported estimated expenditures and impressions do not account for the following placement types: text only, paid fee services, performance-based campaigns, compound ads, sponsorships, barters, in-stream ("pre-rolls") players, messenger applications, partnership advertising, promotions and email campaigns. AdRelevance currently does not report estimated spending for paid search advertising. Above data does not include any house advertising activity.

- Newspaper reflects display ads only

- Coupon and Syndicated TV data was excluded due to recent methodology changes

Advertiser Spending

Advertising spending across monitored media for the top 10 companies in the first half of 2007 reached $8.3 million, down 7.3% from the same time period in 2006. Seven out of the ten advertisers decreased budgets. General Motors continues to show the largest decline, cutting advertising for some truck brands, although they did increase spending on Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid trucks as well as Saturn hybrid cars and trucks.

   Top 10 Parent Companies         Jan - June       Jan - Jun     %Change                                      2006            2007                                    ($ mil)         ($ mil)    Procter & Gamble Co.             $1,680          $1,657         -1.4%   General Motors Corp.             $1,319            $954        -27.7%   AT&T Inc.                        $1,050            $914        -12.9%   Ford Motor Co.                     $853            $871          2.1%   Johnson & Johnson                  $774            $720         -7.0%   Verizon Communications Inc.        $714            $733          2.7%   Time Warner Inc.                   $702            $650         -7.4%   Toyota Motor Corp.                 $662            $628         -5.2%   Kraft Foods Inc.                   $606            $608          0.4%   Cerberus Cptl Mgt (Chrysler)*   *Chrysler, Dodge, GMAC,    Jeep brands                       $615            $588         -4.4%    Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus    Category Spending  

Spending for the 10 largest categories reached $20.8 billion in the first half, 2% less than the same period last year. Most product categories have decreased spending, with the exception of Pharmaceuticals, Wireless Telephone Services, and Direct Response Products. The top category in terms of total dollars, Automotive, also had the greatest dollar and percent decline (-$671 million; -10%).

   Product Category               Jan - June      Jan - Jun      % Change                                  2006 ($ mil)    2007 ($ mil)    Automotives                      $6,469          $5,798          -10%   Pharmaceuticals                  $2,543          $2,730            7%   Automotive-Dealerships           $2,391          $2,265           -5%   Restaurant-Quick Svc             $2,043          $1,998           -2%   Motion Picture                   $1,802          $1,817            1%   Teleph Svcs-Wireless             $1,709          $1,808            6%   Store-Dept                       $1,712          $1,584           -7%   Dir Response Products            $1,041          $1,117            7%   Restaurant                         $881            $868           -2%   Store-Furniture                    $798            $798            0%    Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus     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 half of 2007, based on its Top 10 Programs Broadcast Network ranking (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CW & MyNetworkTV tracked). The Top 10 programs featured 17,371 occurrences compared to 14,643 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 half of 2007, American Idol featured 4,349 product placement occurrences vs. 4,086 occurrences for the first half of 2006. "Fast Cars and Superstars," which premiered in June of this year, zoomed into second place with 3,231 occurrences overall.

The Top 10 featured brands on prime-time broadcast network television for first half of 2007 accounted for 6,848 occurrences. An increase compared to the first half of 2006 when 6,451 brands were reported. Coca-Cola through its association with "American Idol," was the top brand once again, with 3,054 occurrences in the first half of 2007. The Pussycat Dolls Lounge Nightclubs placed second in terms of the brand with the most occurrences (750). The brand is directly linked to the show "The Pussycat Dolls Present" airing on the CW, and places in the top 5 among programs with the most product placement occurrences. The Nike apparel brand had 511 occurrences, with a majority of the occurrences on the "Amazing Race All Stars."

Cable Network Product Placement

Nielsen Product Placement Service reports a slight decrease in the number of product placement occurrences in prime-time cable network programming for the first half of 2007, based on its Top 10 Programs Cable Network ranking (A&E, HGTV, MTV, TLC & BRAVO tracked). The Top 10 programs featured 92,925 occurrences for the first half of 2007 vs 107,792 occurrences for the first half of 2006. "American Chopper," which premiered in Jan 2007, is the #1 cable network show in terms of the number of product placements, with 29,476 occurrences. "Dog the Bounty Hunter" placed second with 12,321 occurrences and "Miami Ink" placed third with 10,892 occurrences.

The Top 10 featured brands on prime-time cable network television for first half of 2007 accounted for 27,697 occurrences. A slight decrease compared to the same time period last year, when 28,271 brands were reported. Orange County Chopper apparel was the top brand with 6,118 occurrences for the first half of 2007 and the Orange County Chopper Motorcycles brand place third with 4,308 occurrences, both brands are featured on the "American Chopper" program. The Oakley Sunglasses brand placed second with 5,205 occurrences. Oakley Sunglasses are worn on the "Dog the Bounty Hunter" program.

"Our Top 10 Program and Brand rankings for broadcast network programming are showing an increase primarily due to the new ABC show 'Fast Cars and Superstars.' This program is an example of the increased value placed on product integrations and the resulting relationships between brands and producers," said Annie Touliatos, Director, Product Development & Marketing for Nielsen Product Placement Service. "Product placement is being viewed more strategically and more frequently woven into the storyline to achieve a maximum and lasting impact. The majority of cable network product placements are on reality-based series, and there are less storyline integrations, however we consistently observe four to five times the number of occurrences on the networks tracked compared to broadcast network programming."

    Top 10 Programs: Product Placement Broadcast Network First Half 2007    Program                                            Network       Total #                                                                  Occurrences    American Idol                                        FOX          4,349   Fast Cars & Superstars                               ABC          3,231   Amazing Race All Stars                               CBS          1,894   Pussycat Dolls Present                                CW          1,347   Extreme Makeover Home Edition                        ABC          1,274   The Apprentice                                       NBC          1,230   America's Next Top Model                              CW          1,126   So You Think You Can Dance                           FOX          1,053   Beauty and the Geek                                   CW            946   Last Comic Standing                                  NBC            921   Total                                                            17,371    Source: Place*Views, Nielsen Product Placement Service      Top 10 Programs: Product Placement Cable Network First Half 2007    Program                                          Network        Total #                                                                 Occurrences   American Chopper                                     TLC         29,476   Dog The Bounty Hunter                                A&E         12,321   Miami Ink                                            TLC         10,892   Overhaulin                                           TLC          7,556   Driving Force                                        A&E          6,436   American Hot Rod                                     TLC          6,002   Runs House                                           MTV          5,992   Real Housewives of Orange County                   BRAVO          4,972   Little People Big World                              TLC          4,892   Real World Road Rules Challenge                      MTV          4,456   Total                                                            92,925    Source: Place*Views, Nielsen Product Placement Service      Top 10 Brands: Product Placement Broadcast Network First Half 2007    Brand                                      Total # Occurrences     Coca-Cola Soft Drinks                             3,054    Pussycat Dolls Lounge Nightclub                     750    Nike Apparel                                        511    Chicago Bears Football Team                         463    Alpinestars Apparel                                 406    Dell Computer Systems                               396    Chef Revival Apparel                                351    Hewlett-Packard Computer Systems                    315    Osiris Apparel                                      302    Boston Red Sox Baseball Team                        300   Total                                              6,848    Source:   Place*Views, Nielsen Product Placement Service      Top 10 Brands: Product Placement Cable Network First Half 2007    Brand                                    Total # Occurrences   Orange County Choppers Apparel                     6,118   Oakley Sunglasses                                  5,205   Orange County Choppers Motorcycles                 4,308   Airgas Industrial Supplier                         2,130   Nike Apparel                                       2,055   Sky Sport & Spa Medical Services                   1,941   Protective Products Firearm Accessories            1,630   Galpin Auto Sports Shop-Vehicle Customizing        1,522   Deville Apparel                                    1,460   Under Armour Apparel                               1,328   Total                                             27,697    Source:   Place*Views, Nielsen Product Placement Service    About The Nielsen Company  

Nielsen Monitor-Plus is a service of The Nielsen Company, a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek), trade shows and the newspaper sector (Scarborough Research). 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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Source: The Nielsen Company

CONTACT: Laura Czaja of Nielsen Monitor-Plus, +1-646-654-8681; or Suzy
Bausch of Nielsen Net//Ratings, +1-408-941-2965

Web site: http://www.nielsen.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment