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Ad spend for Q1 of 2008 remained flat compared with the same time last year, with gains in ad spend for some media and declines for others, according to preliminary figures released by Nielsen Monitor-Plus, reports MarketingCharts.

Despite a flaccid the economy, several media and companies showed healthy first-quarter advertising growth.

Among the growth data issued for the 17 media tracked by Nielsen:

• Advertising in national Sunday supplements recorded the largest growth, with an increase of 19.2 percent over Q1 2007.
• Local Sunday supplements fared worst, declining 13.5 percent compared with the same period last year.
• Cable TV (+12.9 percent), network radio (+10 percent), outdoor (+2.9 percent) enjoyed healthy advertising growth in Q1 2008, compared with Q1 2007.
• In television, programming and networks targeting African American and Hispanic viewers grew 12.9 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively.
• Internet advertising impressions increased 14.7 percent in first quarter 2008 over the same period in 2007.
• Sponsored search link advertising drove overall growth, and rich media led the increase in the display category.
• Among online advertisers, the health and telecommunications industries posted strong increases in sponsored-search impressions, up 108 percent and 80 percent, respectively.
• Hardware and electronics advertisers drove results in display impressions with 65 percent growth, followed by automotive and consumer goods companies, which posted increases of 45 percent and 42 percent, respectively.
• Financial services companies, historically among the largest online advertisers, decreased investment during the period in both sponsored search impressions, down 15 percent, and display impressions, down 13 percent.

Category Spending

Spending for the 10 largest advertising categories reached just over $10 billion in the first quarter of this year, 0.47 percent less than the same period last year, Nielsen said.

• Most product categories showed increased spending, with the exception of automotive (-8.32 percent), motion picture (-1.14 percent), department store (-0.44 percent), and telephone services-wireless (-0.38 percent).
• The direct-response product category had the largest percentage increase in advertising spending, at just over 16 percent.
• At the other end of the spectrum, the automotive category, though it remained the top category spender, showed the largest percentage decrease (-8.32 percent) from the same period last year.

Advertiser Spending

Advertising spending by the top 10 companies in the first quarter of 2008 reached just over $4 billion - up slightly (+1.2 percent) from $3.96 billion in the year-earlier period in 2007, Nielsen said.

Half of the top 10 advertisers increased their budgets from Q1 2007 to the first quarter of this year, while the other half decreased budgets, according to the data.

Among the highlights:

• PepsiCo Inc., which increased ad spending from $253 million in the first quarter of 2007 to $354 million in Q1 2008, had the largest percentage increase (+39 percent). The company showed especially significant increases in advertising expenditures for its beverages, including APM, Pepsi Max, G2, Gatorade (including the release of Gatorade Tiger), Propel water, and Sobe Life Water.
• Procter & Gamble, the quarter's largest advertiser, also increased ad spending significantly (+20 percent). P&G's Olay, Gillette, Cover Girl, Crest, and Dawn product lines all showed significant growth in ad expenditures. Spending for P&G's osteoporosis drug, Actonel, also increased.
• At the other end of the spectrum, Ford Motor Co., which cut its advertising budget from approximately $446 million in Q1 2007 to $330 million in the first quarter of this year, showed the largest percentage decrease in ad spend (-26 percent). Although Ford significantly cut advertising expenditures for larger trucks, SUVs, and cars, such as the Ford F-Series, Expedition, Land Rover, Cadillac, it actually increased ad spending for small cars, such as the Focus, from Q1 2007 to Q1 2008.