Business

US ad spending expected to recover slowly in 2011 and 2012

All it takes is a quick look at the business world to realize that textbook organizational structures, even when implemented perfectly, are increasingly coming into conflict with conditions in the real world. Market conditions have changed, and will continue to do so in the years ahead. The current economic situation will reinforce this trend and ultimately make its effects permanent. The question is: how will these developments influence brands?

Total measured advertising expenditures in the first six months of 2009 fell 14.3 percent versus a year ago, to $60.87 billion, according to data released today by TNS Media Intelligence, the leading provider of strategic advertising and marketing information. Ad spending during the second quarter of 2009 was off 13.9 percent compared to last year, the fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines.

A new global business and public sector coalition – led by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and many notable non-profits – announced a milestone initiative to “survey the socially beneficial way” by making donations to causes on behalf of those individuals participating in funded market research programs around the world.

The 2009 ANA/MMA Marketing Accountability Survey, fielded by ‘mktg’, surveyed 95 senior-level marketers in June 2009, following similar studies conducted together since 2005. According to the results, marketers are being forced to do more with less in this economy.

Tampico Beverages has launched its first global multi-media campaign to spotlight its new packaging and wide variety of fun and playful flavors. The campaign will launch through multiple media outlets in many languages and countries.

Virtually no one in the non-profit world will dispute that building trust and credibility is a top priority for their organization. Yet, many consider spending money on brand development in direct opposition with their primary objective: raising more money. In reality, the two go hand-in-hand. The common denominator: trust.

Switzerland tops the overall ranking in The Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010, released by the World Economic Forum ahead of its Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2009 in Dalian. The United States falls one place to second position, with weakening in its financial markets and macroeconomic stability.

The Nielsen Company reported that U.S. advertising for the first half of 2009 fell 15.4% compared to the first half of 2008. Preliminary figures show that U.S. ad expenditures declined over $10.3 billion to a total spend of $56.9 billion in the first two quarters.

Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. and Genomma Lab Internacional, S.A.B. de C.V. announced that they have signed a strategic alliance agreement to sell and distribute personal care and over the counter pharmaceuticals in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Far too many of those mailings, emails and Facebook messages that companies send to their loyalty reward program members miss the mark, according to consumer survey research released by customer loyalty agency Direct Antidote, a LoyaltyOne company.

The economic crisis appears to be abating as indicators suggest the worst may be past. Yet with each new release of data, the market is subject to impacts which produce varying opinion of the health of the global economy. It is widely agreed that the recovery will be long and trying. In the fall of 2008 when the severity of the downturn was being realized, DDB published a paper called, Capturing Opportunities in Challenging Times. The response was overwhelming with the paper downloaded over 50,000 times and referenced in numerous articles online and offline.

By Jeff Swystun, Chief Communications Office, DDB Worldwide.