Ad spend flat in Q3

Short-form direct response TV spending increased 12.5% during the third quarter of 2011 compared with the same period last year, according to data released by Kantar Media on Dec. 19. Total ad spend for the third quarter of 2011 increased 0.4% compared to the same period last year.

“Direct advertisers have been increasing their ad spend in recent months, which is typically a counter-cyclical indicator,” said Jon Swallen, SVP Research at Kantar Media North America. “We've seen healthy growth in direct response advertising in the third quarter, something that kind of fits in with the fact that other advertisers are scaling back.”

Online advertising spending was mixed during Q3. Display ad spending increased 15.8%, while paid search witnessed a 14.4% decline. Offline channels were mixed as well, with radio spending increasing 1.1% but newspapers declining 3.7% during Q3.

Roughly $11.8 billion was spent by the 10 largest advertisers during the first nine months of 2011, according to Kantar, with Procter & Gamble leading in spending at $2.1 billion , a 5.6% decrease from the company's spending in the same period last year.