23-Aug-10 11:45 AM CST

Advertising Budgets - Who Is Spending?

Although 149 billion is a big number, it doesn’t include advertising budget trends in several of the brand categories you might think. And the forecast of a 1.1% increase overall is much better than the 12.3% decrease we saw last year. Retail numbers overall are up but brands like Target and Kohl’s are down. Pharmaceuticals are down just a bit but automotive is growing. So, it’s more of a cautious approach as we experience a quicker than expected recovery from the world’s worst drought in decades. Read the attached article “Laggards Amid The Ad Rebound” by Suzanne Vranica, and see where you fit into the overall picture.