The presidential election and marketers' Olympic budgets drove another year-over-year growth in ad spending.
According to Kantar Media, total advertising expenditures rose 3% to nearly $140 billion in 2012. Spending during the fourth quarter was up 2% compared to the same period a year ago.
"The advertising market has grown for three consecutive years and in 2012 it added more than $4 billion in spend, with the Summer Olympics and political advertising contributing about one-half of the gain," said Jon Swallen, chief research officer at Kantar Media North America, in a statement.
| Company | Spending (Millions) | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Procter & Gamble | $2,805 | Down 5% |
| Comcast | $1,713 | Up 10% |
| General Motors | $1,642 | Down 7% |
| AT&T | $1,572 | Down 14% |
| L'Oreal | $1,461 | Up 9% |
| Verizon | $1,409 | Down 13% |
| News Corp. | $1,274 | Up 6% |
| Toyota Motor | $1,239 | Up 13% |
| Berkshire Hathaway | $1,165 | Up 12% |
| Chrysler Group | $1,065 | Down 14% |
"Large advertisers played a significant role. After reducing their media budgets in 2011 as a precaution against slowing economic growth, the Top 100 marketers reversed course in 2012 and invested more."
Spending by advertisers
Still, across the ten largest advertisers, measured spending was actually down 2%, with Procter & Gamble, General Motors, AT&T, Verizon and Chrysler all trimming budgets. Meanwhile, Comcast, Toyota and Berkshire Hathaway all posted double-digit increases.
| Media Sector | % Change |
|---|---|
| Network TV | Up 9% |
| Cable TV | Up 3% |
| Spanish Language TV | Up 15% |
| Consumer Magazines | Down 3% |
| Local Newspapers | Down 2% |
| National Newspapers | Down 12% |
| Internet (Display Only) | Down 3% |
| Local Radio | Flat |
| Outdoor | Up 5% |
Spending by Media
Television continued to lead the industry, with network spending up 9% and cable up 3%. Spanish-language TV saw a big boost, up 15% for the year. Print media, meanwhile, continued to be the industry laggard, with consumer magazines down 3%, thanks to weaker spending from the pharmaceutical, financial service and travel sectors. National newspapers were also hurt by the cutback in financial spending.
Radio benefited from the political season, with spending up during the fourth quarter, though spending for local radio was still flat for the year. With politicians grabbing more radio inventory, some marketers redirected local dollars to outdoor, according to Kantar. The outdoor segment saw a 5% increase for the year.
| Category | Spending (Millions) | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | $16,345 | Up 3% |
| Automotive | $14,840 | Up 7% |
| Local Services | $8,978 | Up 3% |
| Telecom | $8,660 | Up 4% |
| Financial Services | $7,889 | Down 2% |
| Personal Care Products | $6,836 | Up 5% |
| Food & Candy | $6,567 | Up 2% |
| Direct Response | $6,342 | Up 2% |
| Restaurants | $6,185 | Up 4% |
| Insurance | $4,860 | Down 2% |
Spending by Category
Retail came out on top as the biggest ad spender, despite turmoil among some of the biggest players, including J.C. Penney and Best Buy. Auto, meanwhile, recorded the largest gain for the year, at 7% growth. And expensive campaigns from Apple and Samsung boosted telecom expenditures by 4%. Financial services and insurance both spent less, compared to the prior year.
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