The recession that has gripped much of the world over the last year has caused consumers to seek out entertainment that provides the best value for money.

Like shoppers around the world, consumers across Asia Pacific have become focused on saving and reducing debt this year, and as a result, have become less inclined to spend on bigger ticket items and out-of-home-entertainment.

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…

While connected by a common language (accents notwithstanding), history and location, Australians and New Zealanders have always had a degree of friendly rivalry. But that rivalry is diminishing to some extent as more Australians visit their neighbor to the southeast, according to research from Nielsen’s BuzzMetrics service.

Store, or private label, brands have seen their popularity grow in the U.S. and Europe as retailers have improved the quality and breadth of offerings to appeal to consumers watching their money more carefully.   Once known for being simply cheaper – and not as good – alternatives to name brands, private label products have been one of the bright spots for retailers in an otherwise gloomy economic environment.  The shift to private label has also attracted Australian consumers, and recent research from The Nielsen Company has found that such products …

According to the latest Nielsen Global Confidence Survey conducted in the second half of June, Australians are seeing encouraging signs of economic recovery with strong consumer confidence levels and optimism about the state of their finances and willingness to spend over the next 12 months.
Australia ranked fifth of the 28 markets Nielsen measures, just behind fast-growing developing countries Indonesia, India, the Philippines and Brazil, and well ahead of other developed nations.
Forty-four percent of Aussies believe “now is a good/excellent time to buy the things they want,” second highest of all …

Although Australia’s economy may have technically avoided entering a recession, almost two-thirds of Aussies believe that it has, and consumer confidence has plummeted to an all-time low.  Concerns about job security and personal finances have led Australians to change the way they shop, with a focus on value.  Like consumers in Europe and North America, Australians are trying to stretch their dollars further: they are eating out less, entertaining and cooking at home more often and buying more private label goods. 
These changes present a range of challenges for retailers and …

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. …

Australians, like many consumers around the world, are cutting back personal spending by shopping less often and switching to less expensive and private label brands.  But one area where they refuse to compromise is their drink: sales of premium brands of beer, spirits and bottled wine all showed strong volume sales performance in the first quarter of 2009.
Imported and domestic premium beers posted growth of 15.3 and 18.6 percent, respectively, over the same period last year, while sales of premium spirits rose 21.3 percent.  Cheaper beer and spirit segments also …

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 …