Where do all the tax dollars go?
Not surprisingly the federal government is the biggest advertiser with the provinces and regions registering outlays commensurate with size and population. Three-quarters of total government ad spending is roughly split 50/25 between TV and dailies. Radio experienced slight gains year over year while magazines and OOH had increases in 2002 and 03 but landed with 2004 percentages on par with 2001. Overall spending peaked in 2003 but then dropped almost 27% to a four-year low in 2004.
Annual National Advertising Spend – Governments
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | |
| Alberta | $2,280,132 | 3,521,310 | 5,038,615 | 4,207,891 |
| British Columbia | $3,613,473 | 1,737,420 | 3,995,759 | 11,648,477 |
| Government of Canada | $65,236,836 | 58,595,017 | 58,605,087 | 37,250,614 |
| Major municipalities | $– | 52,209 | 534,980 | 450,963 |
| Manitoba | $725,627 | 1,087,847 | 1,087,847 | 961,187 |
| New Brunswick | $456,357 | 375,624 | 569,542 | 874,424 |
| Newfoundland & Labrador | $409,031 | 469,853 | 463,648 | 566,700 |
| Northwest Territories | $32,513 | 23,886 | 50,135 | 8,330 |
| Nova Scotia | $2.004,127 | 2,152,870 | 2,125,580 | 2,204,590 |
| Nunavut | $– | — | 7,097 | — |
| Ontario | $22,978,824 | 29,668,360 | 34,484,472 | 18,947,389 |
| Prince Edward Island | $606,565 | 1,421.467 | 1,150,165 | 1,203,014 |
| Quebec | $15,819,194 | 17,548,375 | 15,522,443 | 14,126,404 |
| Saskatchewan | $790.151 | 1.118,558 | 2,441.295 | 953,122 |
| Yukon | $775 | 2,978 | — | 3,260 |
| Total | $114,953,605 | 117,775,774 | 126,333,995 | 93,406,365 |
Annual Total Spend by Medium
2001
| Dailies | $25,901,191 | (22.5%) |
| Magazines: | $4,296,523 | (3.7%) |
| Out of Home: | $8,383,315 | (7.3%) |
| Radio: | $11,762,539 | (10.2%) |
| Total TV: | $64,610,037 | (56.2%) |
2002
| Dailies | $32,328,391 | (27.4%) |
| Magazines: | $6,334,902 | (5.4%) |
| Out of Home: | $6,657,671 | (5.7%) |
| Radio: | $11,929,454 | (10.1%) |
| Total TV: | $60,525,356 | (51.4%) |
2003
| Dailies | $30,206,634 | (23.9%) |
| Magazines: | $7,526,159 | (6.0%) |
| Out of Home: | $6,613,449 | (5.2%) |
| Radio: | $14,269,401 | (11.3%) |
| Total TV: | $67,718,352 | (53.6%) |
2004
| Dailies | $24,510,935 | (26.2%) |
| Magazines: | $3,517,027 | (3.8%) |
| Out of Home: | $6,111,390 | (6.5%) |
| Radio: | $12,789,397 | (13.7%) |
| Total TV: | $46,477,616 | (49.8%) |
Top 5 Spenders 2004 – Governments
1) Government of Canada
2) Ontario Government
3) Quebec Government
4) Government of British Columbia
5) Government of Alberta
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.
