Inflation behind 20% growth in Philippine adex

<p>Adspend in the Philippines jumped by almost 20 per cent in the </p><p>first nine months of last year to 44.2 billion pesos (about USdollars </p><p>0.89 billion), according to ACNielsen adex figures. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, the rise is seen as being fuelled by inflationary pressures </p><p>rather than real growth as the total number of actual spots and inserts </p><p>dropped slightly in the January to September months, compared with the </p><p>same period in 1999. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Telecommunications remained the largest advertising category with a 3.28 </p><p>billion peso spend. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Haircare products ranked second at 2.9 billion pesos, on the back of a </p><p>44 per cent growth while food products other than biscuits and bakeshop </p><p>items held third place at 2.13 billion pesos. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Business machines and office equipment experienced the fastest growth </p><p>rate - more than 130 per cent to 1.34 billion pesos, making it the ninth </p><p>biggest ad category from 21 a year earlier. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>On the other end of the scale, proprietary drugs tumbled from fourth to </p><p>eighth position, following a 14 per cent drop in adspend in this </p><p>sector. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Competition among leading multinational manufacturers such as Unilever, </p><p>Nestle and Procter & Gamble is still apparent," said Mr Bienvenido </p><p>Niles, ACNielsen's managing director, Southeast Asia. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For instance, Unilever grew its advertising expenditures by more than 50 </p><p>per cent to 4.032 billion pesos, followed by Nestle with a 26 per cent </p><p>increase to 1.94 billion pesos. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, P&G reduced its expenditure around 14 per cent to 1.93 billion </p><p>pesos. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Among specific brands, San Miguel Beer is now the most advertised </p><p>product with an adspend of 0.466 billion pesos, just ahead of a new </p><p>shampoo entry from Vaseline, and a Sunsilk shampoo. PLDT dropped from </p><p>first to fourth following an almost 60 per cent drop in adex. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Some companies have been very aggressive in their advertising </p><p>campaigns," Mr Niles said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Nescafe Classic grew its ad expenditure 11 times to come in at No.6, </p><p>while Philippine Charity Sweepstakes, from a minimal 0.18 billion pesos, </p><p>increased its expenditures 10 times, bringing it up to seventh." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Across media, TV remained the most aggressive medium, capturing 67 per </p><p>cent of the market, or 29.51 billion pesos. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>