Ad Spend Up 10% in Q1

By: Sandy Brown (Adweek) Advertising expenditures rose to $31.5 billion in the first quarter of 2004, an increase of nearly 10% over the same period the year before, according to TNS Media Intelligence/CMR.

"The economy is a bellwether for overall ad spending, and as the economy continues to grow, ad spending follows suit," said Steven Fredericks, president and CEO of TNS/CMR, in a statement. "The vigorous advertising growth rate for first-quarter 2004 also benefited from favorable comparisons to first-quarter 2003, during which concerns regarding the Iraq war dampened March spending levels."

According to the media and marketing tracking company; Internet ad spending was up 28% to $1.8 billion; syndication rose nearly 17% to $947 million; cable TV advanced 16% to $2.9 billion; and national newspapers gained 15% to $774 million.

Network TV was up to $5.6 billion, an increase of 12% over the year before. Spending in the pharmaceutical, domestic auto, motion picture and telecommunications services categories fueled this growth, according to TNS/CMR.

The top 10 advertisers showed a 12% increase in year-to-year spending for the quarter, with General Motors and Procter & Gamble leading the way. P&G increased its ad spending to $669 million, an increase of 16%, while GM spent $661 million, 20% more than in the first quarter of 2003.