Taiwan fears malaise will last to 2002

<p>TAIPEI: Leading brands are chopping adspend, raising fears that Taiwan's </p><p>marketing malaise, which began late last year, will continue into </p><p>2002. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>CIA Taiwan Media Network managing director, George Shen: "Even the big </p><p>brands are cutting their spending by 10 to 15 per cent. This became </p><p>evident in the second quarter, and we expect it will continue into </p><p>2002." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In the first half of the year adspend contracted by 11.1 per cent to </p><p>NT$26.2 billion (US$757 million) against last year's </p><p>$29.4 billion, according to research company Rainmaker </p><p>Industrial. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Cable television took the biggest hit, dropping 16.1 per cent, while </p><p>terrestrial's share slid 12.6 per cent. Advertising for newspapers </p><p>dipped 8.7 per cent and magazines by 6.8 per cent. If discounts - </p><p>already approaching panic levels, according to market observers - are </p><p>factored in, the picture could be grimmer. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>What surprised the market was the extent of the decline for cable, which </p><p>- as a cheap alternative to terrestrial - achieved significant growth </p><p>rates in the last decade. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Carat United Media Services chief executive K. F. Lee said cable </p><p>operators such as TVBS had suffered huge declines. "TVBS' ratings have </p><p>dropped, and it's expensive - some spots more so than terrestrial TV," </p><p>said Lee. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The decline in newspaper advertising was led by cutbacks in the real </p><p>estate and automobile categories. The slowdown could not have come at a </p><p>more critical time as publishers have launched more than 20 new </p><p>titles. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Starcom Taiwan managing director Kain Huang said the contraction in </p><p>adspend was aggravated by the absence of a star category. "Every year </p><p>there is one star category such as telecoms or automobiles. But there is </p><p>none this year. Not even fixed line/broadband have much budget." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>