Online advertising remains strong, even as ad spending has decreased across other media, and MySpace has benefited from this trend with several large-scale campaigns from auto makers.  But in recent months, Facebook has surpassed MySpace in terms of monthly unique audience and stickiness: its monthly unique audience grew 177 percent in the last year compared to a 9 percent decrease for MySpace and time per person on Facebook went from 1 hour 8 minutes in March 2008 to 3 hours 16 minutes in March …

Julie A. Enzweiler, Automotive – Research Director, Nielsen Online
The automotive industry was hit by a Mack truck the second half of 2008 with all-time high gas prices, a shrinking economy and growing consumer fear of making a large purchase.  Advertising spend reflects how the automotive industry reacted to the crisis, highlighting channels that are the most vital to intercepting new vehicle prospects.
The first half of 2008 showed growth in advertising spend over 2007 for TV (+2%) and Internet (+55%) while outdoor, magazine, radio and paper decreased (20%, 18%, 14%, and …

As Washington considers a multi-billion dollar bailout package for the American auto industry, a look at this year’s ad spending by car manufacturers provides even more evidence that Detroit is struggling.
Through July 2008, the Big Three American car manufacturers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) all showed negative advertising growth over 2007, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Ford and Chrysler each spent 22% less on advertising, while GM dropped its spending by 6%.
Compare that with the relative success of foreign automakers. Honda added the most spending in dollars over 2007 (an extra $71.5 …

Advertising spending for the first half of 2008 declined by 1.4% compared to the same period last year, Nielsen Monitor-Plus reported Thursday.
Despite a continued softening of the economy, several media showed healthy growth in advertising for the first half.  Advertising on Cable TV (+8.1%), Syndication TV (+7.2%), and National Sunday Supplements (+7.2%) saw the largest growth, according to Nielsen.  Spot Radio fared worst among the 19 media categories analyzed by Nielsen (-10.1%). 
Although overall Internet ad spending, when including paid search and online video advertising, was up by 11% during the first half of …