Many economists believe that Asia has been at the forefront of the global economic recovery, and new research from The Nielsen Company indicates that in terms of advertising spend, the recovery is in full swing in a large part of the region.

Overall ad spending stayed afloat in Q1 ‘09 vs. Q1 ‘08
Toward the end of 2008, the global downturn was adversely impacting advertising spending throughout many key markets around the world, with Europe and the Americas struggling more than others.  The exception to this was Asia Pacific (APAC), which appeared to be relatively impervious to the worst of the downturn. Beginning in late 2008, and escalating as the first quarter of 2009 unfolded, the majority of APAC markets were finally succumbing to declining economic conditions with substantial declines in advertising activity. …

Advertising spending around the world dropped 7.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, according to Nielsen’s Global AdView Pulse.  European countries were hit the hardest, with ad spending down in Spain 28.2 percent, Ireland down 21.2 percent and Italy down 19.1 percent.  The U.S. recorded a decline of 12.7 percent.  Ad spending in Asia Pacific was down just 2.3 percent in the first quarter.  Indonesia actually recorded growth of 19.1 percent due largely to the elections there, while China’s growth slowed to …

Image-based online ad spending by consumer goods companies increased 57 percent over the last two years, growing from $99.8 million in the first quarter of 2007 to $156.2 million in the same quarter in 2009, according to new Nielsen research.
Quarter-over-Quarter Growth in Online Display Ad Spend by U.S. Consumer Goods Industry

Quarter
Estimated Spend
Quarter-over-Quarter Growth

Q1 2007
99,814,750
n/a

Q1 2008
122,785,505
23%

Q1 2009
156,221,975
27%

Source: Nielsen AdRelevance

“While direct response advertising has been very successful on the Internet, with categories like finance and travel devoting a significant portion of their budget to online advertising, on-line advertising will not continue to …

Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines all recorded sound growth in ad spending in 2008 despite the global economic downturn.  Meanwhile, ad spending in Thailand dropped 3 percent during the year as political instability took a toll.
INDONESIA
Leading the group was Indonesia, where ad spending increased 19 percent in 2008 over the previous year, and all four quarter showed growth.

Media Outlet
2008 (US$000s)
2007 (US$000s)
% Change

TV
2,868,654
2,522,678
14%

Newspapers
1,499,080
1,165,809
29%

Magazines
182,731
149,715
22%

TOTAL
4,550,465
3,838,202
19%

Source: Nielsen AIS

The top 10 ad spending categories combined represent 77 percent of all main media spending in Indonesia.  The office equipment/computers/communications category led spending …

With economic uncertainty, a declining real estate market and a depreciating currency, South Korea felt the full impact of the global recession in 2008.  Ad spending fell 8 percent versus 2007 – the largest drop of the 12 countries Nielsen analyzed in Asia – with a drop of 19 percent in the fourth quarter.  All outlets – TV, newspapers, magazines and radio – saw declines in spending.
Ad spending in the largest category – financing, insurance & securities – not surprisingly dropped 13 percent in 2008, while construction & real estate …

The global recession seems to have only lightly brushed India.  Despite some slippage in the fourth quarter (growth slowed to only 14.7%), overall ad spending was up 25 percent in 2008.  And while it remains to be seen how India and the rest of the world endure in 2009, all signs seem to point to continued ad spend growth in the country as the national TV networks work toward setting up regional and local channels.

Media Outlet
2008 (US$000s)
2007 (US$000s)
% Change

TV
2,195,065
1,845,807
19%

Newspapers
3,322,955
2,418,702
37%

Magazines
411,922
324,771
27%

Radio
670,285
648,064
3%

Cinema
47,132
42,713
10%

Outdoor
289,165
263,169
10%

Other
89,839
59,338
51%

TOTAL
7,026,363
5,602,564
25%

Source: AdEx India – A division of TAM India …

2008 was a year of highs and lows for China – the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing were a monumental achievement while the Sichuan earthquake in May was tragedy.   The economy recorded 9 percent growth – the first year of single-digit growth since 2003 and below the average rate of 9.8 percent in the past 30 years.  Contrary to experiences in other countries, metrics actually rose in the last quarter of 2008: industrial output, private consumption, retail sales and bank lending all increased.  For the whole year, ad spending posted …

Australia and New Zealand withstood the shockwaves of the global financial crisis as long as possible, but by the end of 2008, ad spending took a hit.
In Australia, estimated ad spend in main media for the year was up 2 percent over 2007.  Year on year comparisons saw the first two quarters of the year posted growth of 14 percent and 5.5 percent, but by the third quarter, spending declined 0.5 percent while the fourth quarter saw a decline of 3.5 percent.

Media Outlet
2008 (US$000’s)
2007 (US$000’s)
% Change

TV
3,157,160
3,184,216
-1%

Newspapers
2,773,024
2,640,745
5%

Magazines
928,759
901,670
3%

Radio
515,324
508,041
1%

Cinema
63,786
61,966
3%

Outdoor
392,705
383,791
2%

Other
227,671
231,145
-2%

TOTAL …

Brand advertising budgets took a hit in 2008, with expenditures dropping 2.6 percent compared to 2007. While most media suffered, two bright spots were Hispanic cable TV, where ad spending grew 9.6 percent, and cable TV, where growth was 7.8 percent.  But what has happened to online advertising?
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing advertisers and web sites is the plethora of sites competing for scarce advertising dollars with little to offer in the way of differentiation.  Unfortunately, no single formula or strategy has emerged to guide advertisers looking to build brand …