UK Advertising Spending Falls in First Half of 2013

UK advertising spending fell for the first half of 2013 while the rest of the world's ad sector witnessed a recovery, says research by Nielsen.

The information company's quarterly Global AdView Pulse report, which measured advertising spending for TV, newspapers, magazines, radio, outdoor, cinema and Internet display advertising, revealed that UK advertising spend decreased by 2.3 % between January and June 2013 compared to the same period in 2012.

But elsewhere spending continued to recover after slumping during the economic downturn, with quarterly growth of 3.9% in the Middle East and Africa, 2.7% in North America and a more substantial 6.4% in Asia Pacific.

The research also found that marketers continued to gradually increase their global advertising spending, as expenditures grew 3.5% in the second quarter of 2013 and 2.8% on a year-over-year basis for the January-June periods of 2013 and 2012.

Although many marketers remain conservative with advertising budgets, those in Latin America continue to buck the norm, increasing their expenditures by 13.1% to $13.5bn (£8.45bn, €9.95bn) for the first half of 2013, according to Nielsen.

The report revealed that all regions contributed to global growth for the first half of the year except Europe, where marketers remain modest with their advertising budgets amidst the regions' continued fiscal crisis, resulting in a 6% decline for the period.

In Europe, advertising spend increased in Norway, Switzerland, and Greece (2.5%, 0.6%, and 7.4% respectively), while expenditures declined in all other countries in the region.

Argentina contributed significantly to growth for the Latin America region with nearly 30% growth.

Indonesia, China and the Philippines all contributed to double-digit advertising growth in Asia-Pacific for the first half of 2013, with expenditures reaching $51bn.