High Jump: Ad Spending Up In China As Beijing Games Draw Nearer

McDonald's Spending Heavily On Advertising In China Ahead Of Beijing Olympics

Total advertising spending in China last year reached $61.36B (all figures U.S.) in '07, up 15% from '06, and 32 sponsors of the '08 Beijing Olympics spent $2.6B, a 23% increase from what those companies spent in '06, according to Nielsen research cited by Juliet Ye of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Nielsen reported China Mobile, McDonald's and Coca-Cola topped the list of Olympic sponsors. CTR Market research, a joint venture of China Int'l TV Corp. and TNS Media Research of Beijing, calculates a "much lower" ad spend total at $43.4B, up 9% from its '06 number. The 9% is down from the 18% growth in both '06 and '05 and the 22% growth in '04. CTR VP Tian Tao said the 9% jump is "considered a historical slowdown compared with China's [GDP] growth of 11.4%." Tian "reasoned that some companies reduced their 2007 advertising budgets to have money in reserve for spending this year," with the Games not starting until August. CTR reported a 48% increase in online ad spending in '07 to $1.6B, while Nielsen said the online growth "is expected to increase by a further 50%" in '08. Chinese Olympic hurdler Liu Xiang currently endorses 14 brands (WSJ.com, 1/31).