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Agency Execs: Ad Budgets Slide In Q2, Digital Continues To Rise

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Originally apppearing 7/28/11 in MediaPost by Joe Mandese

Advertising budgets decrease during the second quarter of 2011, according to a survey of ad agency executives released Wednesday by STRATA, the big media-buying processing firm owned by Comcast. The survey, which is the most recent in a quarterly series conducted by STRATA, signals a reversal from the first quarter of the year, when a majority of agency executives responding said their ad budgets were increasing. STRATA claims to process about $50 billion worth of media transactions for agencies each year.

“Advertising truly mirrors the economy right now,” stated STRATA CEO-President John Shelton, noting: “As consumers continue to tighten their belts, advertisers are doing the same, which even further emphasizes the importance of maximizing ad spend.”

Even as agencies report cutbacks in overall advertising budgets, the STRATA survey found some significant secular shifts, especially continuing momentum for digital media advertising budgets.

While TV remains the most important medium for advertisers overall, constituting 41% of the budgets reported in the Strata survey, the media processing firm said it is “steadily losing ground” to digital, which accounted for 24% of budgets. Radio ranked third at 13%.

Perceptually, digital also is taking up more of the average agency executive’s mindset, according to the survey, which found 76% of respondents are “more interested” in digital media, up 9% from STRATA’s first-quarter survey.

“Print advertising continued to struggle this quarter, with 56% of agencies saying they are less focused than a year ago,” the study noted.

Not surprisingly, social media was among the highest-profile digital media properties in the minds of agency executives, mirroring a pattern that STRATA found in the first quarter of the year.

Facebook continues to dominate agency attention, accounting for an 81% share, followed by Twitter (39%) and YouTube (36%).

Interestingly, Google+ demonstrated strong intent coming out of the gate, with 27% of agency executives stating that they plan to utilize it in their client’s campaigns.

ABOUT STRATA

STRATA is the nation’s leading provider of media buying and selling software. The custom solutions supplied by STRATA empower clients to sell and efficiently purchase all media types including cable, broadcast, newspaper, radio, outdoor and digital advertising mediums.  On average, over $50 Billion in advertising dollars flow through STRATA systems per year. 

The whole-scale changes that are occurring in this fragmented media landscape require a customizable and convergent solution. STRATA provides the technology to enable organizations to lead rather than react.  By transforming the way advertisements are placed and tracked, STRATA adds efficiency and precision across traditional and emerging platforms.

Headquartered in Chicago, STRATA has been supplying solutions to the media buying and selling industry since 1983.  STRATA is owned by Comcast Cable http://www.comcast.com/.  For more information, visit www.gotostrata.com http://www.gotostrata.com or call (800) 9 STRATA.

For more information: www.gotostrata.com,
www.facebook.com/STRATA and on Twitter - @gotostrata

For Further Information
Contact: J.D. Miller
Director, Marketing and Communications
STRATA             
312) 222-1555