Ad revenue hits record

By DITA DE BONI

Adspend figures for the year to December 1999 have outperformed all previous tallies, despite a spending slump in the first half of the year.

The eagerly anticipated expenditure data for last year, released by the Advertising Standards Authority last night, showed a 6.2 per cent increase in spending across all media.

A total of $1.42 billion was spent overall, compared with $1.337 billion in 1998 and $1.344 billion in 1997.

By a whisker, the largest portion of that figure went to television. Its share of the total advertising pie dipped from 35.4 per cent in 1998 to 34.3 per cent.

But revenues were at a record level of $487m for the year, attributed by New Zealand Television Broadcasters Council executive director Bruce Wallace to buoyant economic conditions and "excellent value provided by television channels."

Television also received a fillip from high-rating television events including the Rugby World Cup, the "on-going" strength of TV2 local soap Shortland Street and the popular consumer-snoops programme Target on TV3. The figure also included the first full year contribution of Prime TV to the total.

Newspapers declined slightly in overall adspend take in the year -- from 33 per cent in 1998 to 32.5 per cent last year.

However the press -- the second largest advertising medium -- also recorded a 10-year high in revenues of $462m.

Radio dropped slightly, according to the figures.

The radio broadcasters took 12.6 per cent of the spend compared with 12.7 per cent, but increased their revenues to $178m from $170m last year.

"Outdoor" media and cinemas all increased both market share and revenue.

For the first time in adspend collation, the Magazine Publishers Association submitted returns from almost all members, helping to boost that sector's take to 11.2 per cent of total revenue from 9.5 per cent.

Magazine adspend revenue jumped accordingly from last year's $127m to $159m.

Although direct marketing and telemarketing figures are not included in the adspend snapshot, 3As executive director David Innes says the industry can have a "high level of confidence" in the final tallies.

"It is encouraging to see the growth, which definitely reflects a strong second half.

"I would have thought the major media companies would be pretty happy with that," he said last night.

"The growth reflected in the figures is the same growth the agencies have been recording over the year."