While national TV advertising as a whole grew at a slower rate last year than in the past, Spanish-language TV advertising posted a 3 percent gain in 2008, with growth in every major product category other than those related to the automotive sector. Satellite communication services showed the most growth – up 124 percent in 2008 — followed by car insurance and pharmaceuticals.  Overall, the top 10 categories recorded growth of 8 percent over the prior year, reaching $2.9 billion in 2008.

The dollar shift accompanies a rise in audience size …

Two of the “Big Three” U.S. automakers have gone bankrupt.  Car sales continue to decline.  This would appear to be the most challenging period for the automotive industry in its history.  But despite the gloom, there are some bright spots for auto makers, according to new research from The Nielsen Company.
The re-designed Forester boosted sales for Subaru, while Hyundai and Kia launched new models appealing to younger drivers.  Existing models, such as the Sorento and Sedona posted strong sales growth (69% and 48%, respectively).  And Lincoln was the only U.S. …

Now more than ever, marketers are trying to identify and reach profitable and discrete market segments that were previously overlooked in an effort to keep growing in difficult economic conditions.  Predictive analytics is one way to do that: it marries a range of consumer, transaction and media information and reveals the “who” and “how” of an effective go-to-market strategy.
Predictive analytics can help marketers in several ways:  It can provide a deeper understanding of customers to guide the marketing spend; it offers guidance on selecting messages and vehicles for communicating with …

Almost half of consumers around the world say that the recession is changing how they buy non-prescription medications. Some (12%) say that they will use less of them, while others are switching to natural and traditional remedies.  According to a major new study from Nielsen, how consumers self-medicate and choose non-prescription medications varies widely by region.  For example, more than half of Europeans tend to look to their pharmacist for advice on which products to use, while only 13 percent of Americans do the same.
Most consumers said that they would …

Slumdog Millionaire, the Oscar winner for Best Picture in 2008 was not a summer blockbuster.  Nor were any of the other nominees in that category.  But they all had a couple of things in common: they were primarily advertised in the second half of the year with a concentration in the fourth quarter, and they were all released in the months of November and December.  So while the summer blockbusters get a great deal of attention, it is those films that are released – and tend to advertise – during …

Old-fashioned paper coupons have enjoyed a resurgence of interest in these difficult economic times, with manufacturer coupon redemption surging nearly 10 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to Nielsen.  More than one-third of dollar sales at food, drug and mass merchandiser stores – or $133 billion not including coupons – were sold on promotion.
At the same time, technology is having a measurable impact on retail sales.  In a recent U.S. study, Nielsen measured more than 200 digital ad campaigns and found the following:

Average …

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 …

Few Americans have been untouched by the economic downturn gripping the country. But how we respond varies widely by demographics, according to a Nielsen study. Understanding how we differ in the ways we cut back can create opportunities for manufacturers and advertisers.
Nielsen created eight segments that divided households into groups based on their behavior and reaction to the decline.  Despite conventional thinking that these segments are based primarily on income, characteristics such as age, household size and location were important factors in determining groups based on how they cut back …

From 1947 to 1969, nearly 20 percent of the American population moved every year, as they relocated to new areas offering economic growth and opportunity.  Since then, mobility has steadily declined, to 15 percent in 2000, and to 11.9 percent in 2007 — a forty percent decline versus the average year between 1947 and 1969.  What has changed that has led to this decline?
First, the population of the country is getting older – and older people are less likely to move.  Second, the growing incidence of two worker couples impedes …

Consumers have more choices than ever from which to access media: traditional television, the Internet, and mobile devices like cell phones and iPods.  As more options exist, they serve to actually increase the amount of time people view media as opposed cutting into viewership of one format or another.  Despite the array of options, television continues to be the primary way Americans of all ages consume media.  In the last quarter of 2008, the average Nielsen household watched more than 151 hours of television per month.  Internet users logged on …