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Jun 29, 2009 - Watching The Signs

Think about it. Very few people probably buy a vehicle because they saw a SuperBowl commercial. The place where the bread is buttered and could be a good indicator of a rebound is local advertising. And there are signs that local auto advertising has bottomed out and is looking to rebound.

“We saw the automotive slowdown beginning in probably August of last year,” said Larry Patton, the general manager of four Oklahoma and Texas stations. Mr. Patton said his ad sales bottomed out at the end of 2008. “I think everyone saw the bankruptcy coming and slowed down anyway,” he said. His ad revenue has been better since then, declining about 12 percent through May over the same period last year, and was down only about 5 percent in June from June 2008, he said.

It's the age-old question. Which came first, the car sales, or the advertising revenue? One things for sure, each cannot exist without the other, and what's looking up for one indicates that things will be looking up for the other.

Read more at the NY Times

2:33 am | Categories: auto advertising, automotive news Permalink | Alert Administrator

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