By DITA DE BONI
Advertising spending in New Zealand dwindled in the first quarter of this year, says ACNielsen.
The company, whose media international division looks at total advertising expenditure in the region, said Asia Pacific as a whole had a soft first quarter, led largely by shrinkage in the South Korean and Australian markets.
Although New Zealand had 2 per cent growth based on rate card values in the quarter to March, many transactions would be at cheaper rates, suggesting that the market actually shrank, the researcher said.
In China, which has led growth in the Asia Pacific basin for two years, the rate of growth declined by half in the quarter. But it is still the largest advertising market in the region, with spending of $US2.5 billion ($6.1 billion) based on rate cards, up 17.5 per cent from last year.
South Korea, the second-largest market last year, dropped to third place in the quarter as spending declined to $US753 million.
Hong Kong climbed to second place.
Frank Martell, head of ACNielsen Asia Pacific, said South Korea seemed to be a victim of the economic downturn and the global dot.com "implosion."
Spending in the region overall was close to $US6 billion in the first quarter, accounting for just 18 per cent of the monitored international market.
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