Advertising spending worldwide for television, newspapers, magazines and radio dropped 7.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the same quarter last year, according to the latest report from research firm Nielsen.
Spending dropped most in Europe, according Nielsen’s “Global AdView Pulse” report. In Spain, ad spending fell 28.2 percent, followed by Ireland with a 21.2 percent drop, Italy with 19.1 percent and the UK with 14.7 percent. By way of comparison, ad spending fell 12.7 percent for the quarter in the United States and only 2.3 percent in the Asia-Pacific region.
Elections in Indonesia spurred the greatest growth during the quarter, accounting for a 19.1 percent rise in Indonesian ad spending. In China, ad spending grew 2.5 percent for the quarter.
The Nielsen report shows that advertising across major media, including newspapers, television, magazines and radio, was down in the quarter. Magazines fared the worst of the four, down 17.4 percent; newspapers saw a 9.1 percent decline, while slowdowns in television and radio advertising were more contained, at 4.7 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.
In both Europe and North America, television ad spending was down 8.6 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively. The Asia-Pacific region saw a 1 percent increase in television ad spending.