US advertising over the forecasts

International Advertising expenditure in the USA is well above analysts' forecasts, with spending in the first quarter up 9.6% on the previous year at USD 31.5 billion - well above the forecast of 5% to 8%. Most media categories benefited from the upturn. According to the market research institute TNS/CMR, the positive development is partly due to the fact that the same quarter of the previous year was particularly weak due to the impending invasion of Iraq. In addition, the domestic economy and advertising activities surrounding the Summer Olympics and the presidential election campaign performed better than expected.