TNS: Spending on Display Ads Rose in Q1

TNS Media Intelligence reported today that spending on Internet display advertising rose 8.2 percent in the first quarter of 2009 over the same period last year, despite a plunge of 14.2 percent in the overall advertising market.

While encouraging, those numbers stand in contrast — ironically — to data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau, which estimated earlier this week that spending on Internet ads fell by 5 percent in Q1.

According to TNS, spending on television was down 9.7 percent, magazines were down 20.5 percent, newspapers 25.5 percent, and radio was down a whopping 26.2 percent.

The apparent shift in spending by media is the result of advertisers looking for new approaches in the midst of a down economy, Dean DeBiase, CEO, TNS Media, said.

“As has traditionally been seen in recessionary periods, some sectors and brands are approaching a depressed marketplace as an opportunity to gain share and are increasing spending accordingly,” he said in a written statement. “The advertising industry, too, while struggling, is understanding this is a period for innovation and we are seeing efforts to reboot their approach through the advent of new technologies and tools such as addressable advertising, and the first steps to integrating ad measurement in a synergistic manner across all media platforms.”

Not surprisingly, the automotive, financial and retails sectors curbed their spending the most in Q1. Automotive was down 28.4 percent, financial services was down 18.1 percent and retail was down 18.4 percent. Both the restaurants and telecom categories spent slightly more than the same period last year.