Global ad spend rises 2.4% in Q2 2012

Global ad spend rose to $139bn in Q2 2012, a moderate 2.4 % gain over Q2 2011, but Europe remained on a decline, according to Nielsen's quarterly Global AdView Pulse report.

In a continuing trend, emerging markets saw the most significant increases. The fastest-growing regions, Middle East and Africa, grew 19.6% compared to Q2 2011, while Latin America saw advertisers increase their spend 4.9%.

Ad spend globally is generally on an upswing, but Europe remains the only region experiencing a year-on-year decline. Despite growth in the UK, Turkey and Norway, conservative ad spending in markets such as Greece, The Netherlands and Portugal led to a downward shift of 3.8% across the region.

Overall, regional inconsistency was a theme, with some countries noting large increases and others down year-on-year. In Asia-Pacific, for example, moderate overall growth (+2.9%) resulted from significant increases in countries including the Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong being offset by declines in markets such as South Korea and Australia.