Put on Your Dancing Shoes, More Reports of Ad Spend Increases
Michael Hedges March 9, 2005
IREP France and IRM Sweden release final 2004 figures along with a few predictions.
 The Institute of Advertising Research and Study (IREP) released this week (March 8) its analysis of 2004 ad spending in France. After falling for three consecutive years, ad buyers opened their budgets 4% more in 2004 than 2003 for a total of €9.8 billion. No media sector suffered a loss.
Swedish ad buyers spent even more, proportionally. The Institute for Advertising and Media Research (IRM) reported a 5.1% increase to €2.77 billion from €2.64 billion in 2003 in its report issued at the end of February.
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US Internet advertising grew 17% in the 2004 fourth quarter to achieve a record $9.6 billion for the year. Some European countries are reporting even higher percentage gains....
At the end of each year global traditional media powerbrokers meet in New York for two media conferences where they prognosticate about the year ahead. This year it was a mixed bag...
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Two media sectors – both in France and Sweden – showed the biggest gains, underscoring obvious trends. Ad revenue for free dailies grew 9.2% to a 10.2% market share in France and 33.3% in Sweden, a 4.9% market share.
The other trend, of course, is huge increases in Internet advertising. From 2003 to 2004 on-line ad spending increased 37% to €179 million in France and 33.3% to €138 million in Sweden. Conventional wisdom suggests – with support from recent data – on-line advertising gaining significant market share in Scandinavia and northern Europe where broadband access is greater and, the significant point, commercial radio and television are relatively new and still secondary to public – often ad-free - broadcasting. On-line ad spending might be increasing in France – like Italy and Spain – but commercial electronic media is far more established.
No real consensus has developed on which sectors suffer most from the shifts in spending. After the 2001 ad crash, spending simply disappeared and all sectors felt the pain. Free dailies are, without question, affecting traditional dailies – particularly regional press - more than other print sectors.
In France TV ad spending increased 6.5% to €3.2 billion, a 33% market share. TV ad spending in Sweden is a much smaller piece of the media mix, just 15%, though increasing 6.1% from 2003. Radio in Sweden is but 2% of all ad spending, increasing 9.6% over 2003. French radio advertising increased 5.5% to a market share of 8%.
The Internet and other digital technologies have the advertisers attention. Traditional media – maintaining a one-to-many approach – is challenged to prove it can become a value-added asset to each and every consumer. As the advertising approach changes, perhaps to a more “embedded” form, the media approach will follow, perhaps away from traditional ads and on to subscriptions.
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