Advertising spending in Malaysia posted solid growth in 2010, posting a 16 percent increase for the year and totaling RM 7.7 billion (more than US$2.5 billion), according to a new report from The Nielsen Company.

Chinese advertising spending increased 3% in the third quarter of 2010 compared to the previous quarter, and 7% compared to year ago, reaching 175 billion RMB.

With shopping season and holiday ads in full swing, new Nielsen research looks at viewer engagement for commercials that use animation vs. live action.

While advertising as a whole took a hit in 2009, the nation’s Quick Service Restaurants ramped up spending during the year by 2% over 2008, according to The Nielsen Company.

Spending the most doesn’t necessarily equate to efficiency in viewer recollection. Nielsen IAG found that the top four most memorable Pharma TV commercials in 2009 did not spend the most on their respective campaigns.

U.S. ad spending was down for the sixth straight quarter, despite signs that the decline is slowing, according to preliminary figures released today by The Nielsen Company. All told, advertisers spent an estimated $117 billion on U.S. media in 2009, down 9% from 2008.

Vietnam’s business leaders expect to return to double-digit growth in 2010, according to the latest edition of the Nielsen Vietnam’s Business Barometer.

A new analysis of multi-cultural advertising indicates that ad spending declined in Spanish-Language and African-American media.

Australia’s advertising sector appears to have avoided the worst of the ongoing shockwaves of the global financial crisis, although the impact on ad spending was significantly more severe across main media in the second half of the financial year…

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. …