U.S. Ad Index Falls For 9th Consecutive Month in March

• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, 7 hours ago

The U.S. Ad Market Tracker fell for the ninth consecutive month in March, signaling a continuing weakening of demand from the nation's biggest national advertisers and agencies.

The tracker, a composite monthly index of actual ad spending from the major agency holding companies and independents that pool their data through Standard Media Index, indicates that at least that portion of the U.S. ad economy appears to be in recession.

In fact, the top 10 ad categories in the composite fell at a greater rate (-8.6%) than all other categories (-7.9%) in March.

Much of this year's ad-spending erosion compares with strong growth for year-ago periods.

Digital continues to increase its share (62% in March) relative to non-digital media.