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.

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

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