First, Examine the Biggest Budgets…
-- graphic arts online, 3/1/2001
Which industries are the biggest purchasers of print? The answer is that no one really knows.
To determine the top purchasers of print by industry, we looked at industry spending on advertising and promotion. The premise: industries that spend the most on advertising probably buy lots of print. While advertising is not the only factor driving print sales, it certainly is a major force.
We started our industry analyses by looking at the report, Advertising Ratios & Budgets, by Schonfeld & Associates, Riverwoods, Ill. We then compared the Schonfeld data to Advertising Age's annual listing of top advertising buying industries to identify which spend the most on advertising, and thus on print.
The Advertising Age data includes advertising spending for consumer magazines, Sunday magazines, local and national newspapers, outdoor advertising, network TV, spot TV, syndicated TV, cable TV networks, network radio, and national spot radio.
However, although industry categories were generally based on government SIC segments, each set of data was different. Since this was a common problem throughout, we had to make adjustments and regroup industries.
General Industry Category | SIC* Code | Advertising Spending in 1999** |
|---|---|---|
Motor Vehicles and Car Bodies | 3771 | $22.9 billion |
Food and Kindred Products | 2000 | 18.7 billion |
Pharmaceutical Preparations | 2834 | 18.4 billion |
Phone Communication, Except Radiotelephone | 4813 | 18.3 billion |
Computer Programming, Data Processing | 7370 | 9.1 billion |
Department Stores | 5311 | 5.9 billion |
Soap, Detergent, Toilet Preparations | 2840 | 5.4 billion |
Variety Stores | 5331 | 5.3 billion |
Prepackaged Software | 7372 | 3.7 billion |
Perfume, Cosmetic, Toilet Preparations | 2844 | 3.5 billion |
Grocery Stores | 5411 | 3.5 billion |
Household Audio and Video Equipment | 3651 | 3.4 billion |
Television Broadcast Station | 4833 | 3.3 billion |
Radiotelephone Communication | 4812 | 3.2 billion |
Sugar and Confectionery Products | 2060 | 3.2 billion |
Distilled and Blended Liquor | 2085 | 3.0 billion |
Semiconductor, Related Devices | 3674 | 2.9 billion |
Drugs and Proprietary-Wholesale | 5122 | 2.8 billion |
Eating Places | 5812 | 2.7 billion |
Motion Picture, Videotape Production | 7812 | 2.7 billion |
Source: Advertising Ratios & Budgets, published by Schonfeld & Associates, Inc.
*Standard Industrial Classification, U.S. Department of Commerce
**Figures rounded from source data
Industry Grouping | Total Ad Spending in 1999 | % Change 1998-99 |
|---|---|---|
Automotive (including dealers) | $14.6 billion | 9.50 |
Retail | 13.4 billion | 11.40 |
Movie and Media | 5.8 billion | 15.90 |
Financial | 4.8 billion | 23.80 |
Medicines, Proprietary Remedies, Pharmaceuticals | 4.3 billion | 14.80 |
Telecommunications | 3.8 billion | 17.70 |
Food (not confections) | 3.4 billion | -0.30 |
Restaurants and Fast Food | 3.4 billion | 7.60 |
Airline and Ship; Hotels and Resorts | 3.4 billion | 11.20 |
Direct Response Companies | 2.6 billion | 9.90 |
Computers and Software | 2.5 billion | 28.20 |
Insurance and Real Estate | 2.3 billion | 13.40 |
Apparel | 1.8 billion | 3.40 |
Cosmetics and Toiletries | 1.6 billion | 5.90 |
Beverages | 1.4 billion | 6.90 |
Personal Hygiene and Health | 1.4 billion | -2.70 |
Confectionery and Snacks | 1.2 billion | 8.20 |
Government and Political Organizations | 1.2 billion | -18.30 |
Beer and Wine | 924 million | 2.90 |
Audio and Video Equipment | 896 million | -12.20 |
Source: Competitive Media Reporting, as reported in Advertising Age
*Figures rounded from source data
