Outdoor advertising industry revenue sustained last year’s strong growth trend, accounting for $1.6 billion in the first three months of 2007 - an increase of 8% compared with the year-earlier period, according to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.

Outdoor media performance was up in nine of the Top 10 advertising categories for the first quarter of this year.

The Communications category posted the largest gain in ad spending, with 20.0%.

The greatest spending was in the Local Services and Amusements category, which grew 11.5%.

The Insurance and Real Estate category remained strong with a 14.7% increase over the first quarter of 2006, stimulated by agents eager to compete in a cooling housing market.

The Automotive Accessories & Equipment category surged by posting strong gains of 13.1% after several quarters of decreased spending.

The Restaurants (9.7%), Public Transportation, Hotels & Resorts (3.4%), Retail (0.6%), and Financial (0.1%) categories also experienced increases.

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Offline Channel Exposure Driving Online Searches (% of Online searchers within previous 6 months)
Offline Channel Driving Search	% of Online Searchers
TV ad	37%
Word of mouth	36
Magazine/Newspaper ad	30
Store location	20
Radio ad	17
Billboard/other signage	9
Company name/ad on vehicle	10
None of these prompted a search	33
Source: iProspect, August 2007

Offline channels clearly influence a significant percentage of online search users, says the report, with TV and word of mouth influencing over one-third of online search users to perform a search. More surprising, to the analysts, is that a full 67% of online search users are driven to search as a result of some offline channel.Go to the source

Websites, but Not Pharma’s, Top Resource for Ailment and Drug Information

Some 75% of 800 consumers responding to Prospectiv’s 2007 Pharmaceutical Marketing CPI poll said they view the internet as their most trusted resource, followed by broadcast media (15%) and magazines (10%).

83% surveyed expressed concerns that pharmaceutical ads on television can be confusing and misleading.

89% agreed with the sentiment expressed by some government organizations and consumer advocacy groups that television drug treatment advertisements need to be more closely regulated.

72% of respondents also said that there were too many drug treatment advertisements on television.

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Top TV-related search engine queries: American Idol, Days of Our Lives, Deal or No Deal

Nielsen//NetRatings published the top TV-related search engine queries in April 2006.

TV-related search engine queries
Search query	000
American Idol	4,261
Days of Our Lives	1,258
Deal or No Deal	1,137
Lost	418
Wheel of Fortune	408
24	312
24 spoilers	310
Who Wants to be a Millionaire	281
Survivor	268
South Park	216
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings

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