Several major ad categories have increased their US mall advertising in the second half of 2009, according to a report from EYE Corp., which said that pharma, insurance, and sports advertisers spent four times as much on mall advertising between July and October than they did during the same period last year.
The increased spending came from new advertisers in the mall as well as returning mall advertisers who spent more than in the previous year. Fashion has also greatly increased spending, writes MediaBuyerPlanner.
Energy, fuel and fashion all doubled their ad spend, while media & TV, food, beauty services, education and healthcare also are spending strongly.
The automotive category, which has been under extreme pressure in the last year, has also seen positive activity that is expected to result in considerable ad spending across many manufacturers in Q410, said Jeff Gunderman, SVP, Eye Shop.
Newspaper publishers, including Tribune Co., New York Times Co., and Hearst Corp., have also said that ad spending in the auto category rebounded somewhat in the third quarter, after experiencing record drops in the first half of 2009.
EYE Corp., which encompasses more than 3,500 panels in 250 shopping malls across the country, says it isn’t the only company seeing growth. Outdoor Services Inc. in Detroit has also seen increased activity leading into the holiday season, says OSI managing director Dace Kainass.
“The diversity of categories showing increased advertising spending demonstrates that new optimism in the US economy is indeed warranted. We’re not seeing growth limited to one or two areas. The ad dollars are coming in from virtually all sectors,” said David Gibbs, CEO of EYE USA.
ZenithOptimedia’s latest ad industry predictions show that, while the internet is the only medium expected to grow in 2009, outdoor advertising – along with television and cinema – will return to growth in 2010.
