LatAm, Asia Lead Global Ad Growth

NEW YORK: Global ad revenues rose just 1.9 percent to $76.6 billion in the first quarter of 2013 as compared with the year-ago period, according to Nielsen’s quarterly Global AdView Pulse report, as gains in Latin America and Asia were offset by a reduction in Europe and flat spending in North America.

Latin America showed particularly strong growth of 11.9 percent in Q1, with increases reported in all countries across the region. In Asia, there was 5.8-percent growth, led by China, Indonesia and the Philippines, all up by about 20 percent. There were gains across all Asia markets except for Japan, which reported a 1.1-percent decrease.

Europe was down by 4.4 percent, with Nielsen noting it is unlikely there will be any improvements in the short term. North American ad revenues were stable. In the Middle East and Africa, meanwhile, there was a 2.9-percent improvement. Problems persist for the region though, with Egypt’s ad revenues dropping 20 percent in the past year.