Holidays Lead to Dot Com Ad Spending Explosion
The fourth quarter of 1999 saw an explosion in ad spending by dot com companies as they geared up for the holidays, according to data compiled by Competitive Media Reporting.
The fourth quarter of 1999 saw an explosion in ad spending by dot com companies as they geared up for the holidays, according to data compiled by Competitive Media Reporting.
Dot com companies began the fourth quarter with an ad spending explosion, spending $473 million in the month of October alone, up more than 500 percent from the same period a year ago, according to data compiled by Competitive Media Reporting (CMR).
The one-month total for October was greater than each of the first quarters of 1999. Network television was the beneficiary of October’s spending surge with $127.9 million in ad spending, topping its entire third quarter total of $78.6 million. CMR’s information reflects advertising dollars spent in television, newspapers, magazines, radio, and outdoor.
“It is surely the fastest growing industry we have seen,” Jerry Arbittier, senior vice president corporate research and analysis at CMR. “We anticipate that the holidays had an even bigger impact on the rest of the quarter.”
Thanks to a strong holiday ad spending push, some companies spent more in October than they did in the entire third quarter. eToys spent $9.98 million in October, compared to $6.9 in the first nine months of 1999, according to CMR. KBkids.com spent only $187,000 during the first nine months of 1999, but began the fourth quarter with $8.7 million. Intel rose from $600,000 through three quarters to $7.8 million in October.
Ameritrade was October’s biggest spender at $25.2 million. E*Trade was second at $17 million, but remains the top spender through the first 10 months of 1999 at $106 million.
Dot Com Spending by Company | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Spending in US Dollars | ||||
Rank | Company | Oct. 99 | Jan-Sept. 99 | 10-Month Total |
1. | Ameritrade | 25,176,400 | 36,389,000 | 61,555,400 |
2. | E*Trade | 16,980,900 | 88,984,900 | 105,965,800 |
3. | Fidelity Investments |
12,978,500 | 11,124,200 | 24,102,700 |
4. | eToys | 9,937,700 | 6,912,500 | 16,850,200 |
5. | Datek Securities |
9,882,100 | 10,185,700 | 20,067,800 |
6. | iVillage.com | 9,363,000 | 13,766,400 | 12,129,400 |
7. | UUnet | 9,345,000 | 7,793,500 | 17,138,500 |
8. | KBkids.com | 8,654,100 | 187,200 | 8,841,300 |
9. | Intel | 7,837,200 | 599,800 | 8,437,000 |
10. | Snap.com | 7,602,800 | 38,055,000 | 45,657,800 |
11. | Merrill Lynch | 7,309,100 | 1,609,000 | 8,918,100 |
12. | AltaVista | 7,079,000 | 4,851,700 | 11,930,700 |
13. | WebTV | 5,963,000 | 6,362,900 | 12,325,900 |
14. | CNET | 5,919,100 | 14,064,200 | 19,983,300 |
15. | Staples | 4,945,000 | 258,700 | 5,203,700 |
Source: Competitive Media Reporting |
Dot Com Spending by Media | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Spending in US Dollars | ||||
Rank | Measured Media |
Oct. 99 | Jan-Sept. 99 | 10-Month Total |
1. | Network Television |
127,863,200 | 278,275,800 | 406,139,000 |
2. | Magazines | 75,450,600 | 265,085,100 | 340,535,700 |
3. | Cable TV | 71,864,800 | 202,627,000 | 274,491,800 |
4. | Spot Television |
65,345,100 | 166,928,300 | 232,273,400 |
5. | National Spot Radio |
59,560,800 | 154,621,400 | 214,182,200 |
6. | National Newspapers |
40,074,500 | 148,659,900 | 188,734,400 |
8. | Network Radio |
8,704,600 | 43,137,500 | 51,842,100 |
9. | Syndication | 6,514,100 | 5,715,200 | 12,229,300 |
10. | Sunday Magazine |
1,404,500 | 6,978,300 | 8,382,800 |
Source: Competitive Media Reporting |