The CTR forecasts came after the research house revealed that mainland adspend in 2006 reached Rmb 287.5 billion (US$36.9 billion), representing an 18 per cent increase on 2005.
With strong stock market growth over the past year, along with increased investment by foreign banks, adspend in the financial categories surged by 33 per cent last year.
Other categories that saw sharp growth included toiletries, pharmaceuticals, business and services, food and real estate.
“We expect the top 100 advertisers will contribute to the double digit growth in adspend in China in the coming year leading to the Beijing Olympics,” said Tian Tao, vice- president of CTR.
“We also expect that advertisers of baby products will be keen to capitalise on the auspicious Year of the Pig.”
TV still maintains the lion’s share of spend, at 76 per cent — growing 18 per cent in 2006 — while radio achieved an eye-catching growth rate of 24 per cent, with brands like Mengniu, Lenovo, China Construction Bank and Wahaha entering the top 10 radio ranking for the first time.
However, adspend in newspaper only saw four per cent growth because of increasing pressure from the internet and outdoor advertising.
Despite the stellar growth in adspend, it represented just 1.4 per cent of the country’s 2006 GDP — compared with three per cent in the US — indicating that the mainland market still has significant room for growth.
