Global Ad Spending Rose 6.2% in Fourth Quarter, Nielsen Says

Advertisers increased spending 6.2 percent in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier, according to Nielsen Holdings NV. (NLSN)

Worldwide spending rose to $131 billion, while U.S. advertising fell 0.2 percent to $31 billion, New York-based Nielsen said in its Global AdView Pulse report released today.

The global advertising industry continued to achieve gains after climbing out of recession in 2010. The fourth-quarter advances contributed to a full-year increase worldwide of 7.3 percent to $498 billion, Nielsen said.

Geography mattered. Annual ad spending rose 11 percent to $20 billion for the region comprising the Middle East and Africa, and 12 percent to $213 billion in the Asia-Pacific. There was a 0.4 percent decline in Europe, to $70 billion, according to the report. Latin America had 12 percent growth, to $80 billion.

Nielsen found that “all traditional media types” attracted more ad spending in 2011, led by a 10 percent gain to $324 billion for television. That medium also commanded the largest portion of the global ad market, 65 percent. Internet ad spending advanced 24 percent, Nielsen said.

Ad spending in clothing and retail increased the most, at 18 percent last year, according to the report.

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To contact the reporter on this story: Edmund Lee in New York at elee310@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ville Heiskanen at vheiskanen@bloomberg.net