Cable shows growth despite overall ad spending during first half of 2009 is down

In an economic recession, it could be useful to know how ad spending currently compares to last year. That way, you can keep your budget and campaign on track.

According to MediaPost, the research company Nielsen Co. has been monitoring US media ad spending from 2008 to 2009. As a whole, ad spending has declined 15.4% during the first half of 2009 compared to the same time in 2008. This means that spending was approximately $56.9 billion which is down by $10.3 billion from the first half of 2008.

Results show that the only medium to show ad revenue growth during the first half of 2009 was cable TV. It rose 1.5% over ad spending in 2008 during the same time frame. This has been reported as impressive considering cable spending declined 2.7% during the first quarter of 2009, which means it had a strong second quarter in order to show gain.

All other media declined in ad spending with print media experiencing the largest drop. Local Sunday newspaper supplements had the biggest hit in declining revenue.

Annie Touliatos, vice president for Nielsen’s advertising information services, was quoted as saying, “What’s interesting is that we’re not just seeing a rise in spending for recession-friendly products like fast food restaurants. We’re seeing a lot more promotion of technological innovations like smartphones, computer software, and consumer-driven Web sites. These advertisers see potential for their products despite our stressed economy and are leveraging advertising to drive their success.”

While the economy is in a recession, it could be beneficial to regroup and rethink the marketing strategy for a campaign. Print could be a good media to utilize because the space may not be as congested with competition and rates may be more negotiable. Or cable might be the venue of choice because of a growing catalog of original programming and audience participation.