The latest monthly MediaRadar Media Index for July finds that during the month of May — the month for which the latest data is available — nearly 14,000 brands or product lines joined the world of advertising. In the process, they contributed more than $178 million in media spending.
MediaRadar put estimated national spend for the month at $11.6 billion, up 6% month over month and 7% on a year-over-year basis. Key categories seeing increased media spend include Retail, Technology, and Furnishings.
Of the nearly 14,000 new entrants to the advertising ecosystem in May, MediaRadar said 2,300 were in Professional Services (16%) share; 1,500 were in Media & Entertainment (10% share); and 1,200 were in Technology (9% share). Those three segments also made up the largest shares of the 28,000 brands that expanded buys into at least one new ad format (up 20% YoY).
MediaRadar said it looked at spending trends across 27 major national categories and compared YoY and month-over-month changes. It found that just three categories — Direct Response Companies, Musical Instruments, and Cigarettes & Tobacco — declined in both comparisons.
Six companies, however, are “exhibiting shifts in spend that warrant attention,” the report said. The expanding categories include Retail ($1.3B, +10% MoM, 1% YoY); Technology ($1B, +7% MoM, +16% YoY); and Furnishings ($712M, +12% MoM, +5% YoY).
Meanwhile, the categories reducing spend include Apparel ($605M, -6% MoM, +9 YoY); Travel ($411M, -3% MoM, +9% YoY); and Babies & Kids ($105M, -2% MoM, +31% YoY).
