Jan 23, 2009: Gross Advertising Expenses 2008
Market research company Nielsen has published the 2008 gross advertising expenses for Germany. Above-the-line media (TV, newspapers, radio) registered total ad sales of € 21.1 bln (unchanged year-on-year and like-for-like), of which TV ads represented € 9.1 bln (rising 3.3 percent while other media stagnated or fell). Retail companies spent € 2.0 bln (plus 5.4 percent) - especially food discounters Aldi and Lidl did more advertising than in the previous year. Total online advertising jumped 26.9 percent to € 1.5 bln. In this segment, however, retailers dramatically cut down their expenses to a mere € 25.8 mln. This was mainly caused by discounter Plus who stopped almost all online spendings. With a budget of € 36 mn, clothing retailer Esprit invested the most in internet advertising. Despite the sharp rise in online ads, it is astonishing to see that these still only represent 7 percent of total spendings. Given the significance of the internet for consumer purchasing decisions and information search, these numbers appear low. Considering their immense sales volumes, retailers are spending far too less on online consumer communication.
