Q1 Global Adspend Up 8.8 Percent

NEW YORK: Global advertising rose 8.8 percent to $118 billion in the first quarter, according to Nielsen, with television advertising alone up 11.9 percent.

According to the new Nielsen Global AdView Pulse report, television’s share of the global ad pie has risen from 63.5 percent to 65.3 percent. “With $6.50 of every ten dollars being spent on television, it’s clear that TV remains the most important and cost effective advertising medium for companies looking to reach new consumers, especially in booming emerging markets,” said Randall Beard, global head of advertiser solutions for Nielsen. “In fact, according to two Nielsen reports released last month, women globally said they preferred to find out information on new products and services via television more than any other medium, and the Q1 Nielsen Cross-Platform Report showed that Americans are watching more TV than ever before.”

The U.S., Nielsen notes, saw its ad market grow by 5.9 percent in Q1, while the Asia Pacific experienced a 12.4 percent gain and Latin America an 11-percent hike. In the Middle East and Africa, despite a 51-percent plummet in Egyptian ad revenues in Q1, adspend increased by 10.4 percent in the first quarter. The region that is experiencing the slowest growth rate is Western Europe, with just a 2.9 percent gain, as Greece, Iceland, Italy and Spain all saw declines, partially offset by double-digit gains in Turkey (12.9 percent), France (11.6 percent) and Norway (10.2 percent).

By individual market, the strongest gains worldwide were seen in Argentina, with 37 percent, and South Africa, with 34.8 percent. Other key increases were seen in the emerging markets of China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Saudi Arabia.