The tax man cometh – and advertises
It’s been said that the only sure things in life are death and, well, you know. Traditionally income tax services have been the biggest spenders at this time of year but 2004 really closed the spending gap between the services and tax software manufacturers.
TV is the main media vehicle used but radio picked up a good chunk of the business in 2002 and 2003 but slipped in 2004. Both newspaper and out-of-home made nice showing last year while magazines final made an appearance on the radar screen.
Annual National Advertising Spend – Q1 – Tax Time
| Q1 2001 | Q1 2002 | Q1 2003 | Q1 2004 | |
| Computer software manufacturer | $604,146 | $652,271 | $549,787 | $2,832,989 |
| Computer software reseller | $0 | $451 | $226,270 | $329 |
| Income tax services | $2,356,708 | $2,527,002 | $3,245,187 | $3,441,851 |
| Total | $2,960,854 | $3,180,049 | $4,022,844 | $6,275,169 |
National Q1 Total Spend by Medium
2001
| Dailies | $456,044 | (15.4%) |
| Magazines: | $—– | (0.0%) |
| Out of Home: | $18,495 | (0.6%) |
| Radio: | $393,733 | (13.3%) |
| Total TV: | $2,092,582 | (70.7%) |
2002
| Dailies | $22,319 | (0.7%) |
| Magazines: | $—– | (0.0%) |
| Out of Home: | $196,173 | (6.2%) |
| Radio: | $1,157,980 | (36.4%) |
| Total TV: | $1,803,577 | (56.7%) |
2003
| Dailies | $125,540 | (3.1%) |
| Magazines: | $—– | (0.0%) |
| Out of Home: | $398,603 | (9.9%) |
| Radio: | $1,208,104 | (30.0%) |
| Total TV: | $2,290,597 | (56.9%) |
2004
| Dailies | $538,420 | (8.6%) |
| Magazines: | $4,064 | (0.1%) |
| Out of Home: | $588,415 | (9.4%) |
| Radio: | $992,385 | (15.8%) |
| Total TV: | $4,151,885 | (66.2%) |
National Q1 2004 – Top 5 Spenders, Tax Time
1) H&R Block Inc. (income tax services)
2) Intuit Inc. (QuickTax software)
3) Dr. Tax Software Inc. (software)
4) GCI Gaming Consultants Corps. (refund management services)
5) Softron Tax Inc. (income tax preparation services)
The preceding data is from the Nielsen Media Research, AdExpenditures. For more information, please contact Andrea Beach, business manager, andrea.beach@nielsenmedia.com. All data courtesy of Nielsen Media Research.
