Kantar Data Sees Auto Ad Revenues Slowing

Soft Q2 For Automotive Ads

With radio experiencing an upturn in ad revenue, this news from KANTAR MEDIA comes as a fly in the ointment, as REUTERS reports, "Spending on U.S. advertising by the automotive industry has slowed in the second quarter to one-fourth to half the growth rates seen earlier this year due to the MARCH earthquake in JAPAN and the weaker economy."

"Automotive is a category that everybody has a stake in, whether you're a magazine, a TV station, a newspaper, everybody dips their hand into the pot of automotive money ... so when the automotive industry sneezes, everybody worries about catching a cold," said KANTAR MEDIA SVP/Research JON SWALLEN.

Last year provided good news, as auto ad spending was up 20% in the U.S -- and this year's Q1 was even better at a 23% increase.

"Second-quarter automotive is still above average, but it's not nearly as strong as it was in the first quarter," SWALLEN told REUTERS. "We had a heat wave in the first quarter and the climate's now back to a more moderate, more temperate level."

"With automotive cooling off somewhat unexpectedly, some of those forecasts I would expect would be revised," SWALLEN added. "Projections based on bullish first-quarter rates probably don't hold up now."

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