Dot com companies began the fourth quarter with an ad spending explosion,
spending $473 million in the month of October alone, up more than 500
percent from the same period a year ago, according to data compiled by
Competitive Media Reporting (CMR).
The one-month total for October was greater than each of the first
quarters of 1999. Network television was the beneficiary of October’s
spending surge with $127.9 million in ad spending, topping its entire
third quarter total of $78.6 million. CMR’s information reflects
advertising dollars spent in television, newspapers, magazines, radio, and
outdoor.
“It is surely the fastest growing industry we have seen,” Jerry Arbittier,
senior vice president corporate research and analysis at CMR. “We
anticipate that the holidays had an even bigger impact on the rest of the
quarter.”
Thanks to a strong holiday ad spending push, some companies spent more in
October than they did in the entire third quarter. eToys spent $9.98
million in October, compared to $6.9 in the first nine months of 1999,
according to CMR. KBkids.com spent only $187,000 during the first nine
months of 1999, but began the fourth quarter with $8.7 million. Intel rose
from $600,000 through three quarters to $7.8 million in October.
Ameritrade was October’s biggest spender at $25.2 million. E*Trade was
second at $17 million, but remains the top spender through the first 10
months of 1999 at $106 million.
| Dot Com Spending by Company | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spending in US Dollars | ||||
| Rank | Company | Oct. 99 | Jan-Sept. 99 | 10-Month Total |
| 1. | Ameritrade | 25,176,400 | 36,389,000 | 61,555,400 |
| 2. | E*Trade | 16,980,900 | 88,984,900 | 105,965,800 |
| 3. | Fidelity Investments | 12,978,500 | 11,124,200 | 24,102,700 |
| 4. | eToys | 9,937,700 | 6,912,500 | 16,850,200 |
| 5. | Datek Securities | 9,882,100 | 10,185,700 | 20,067,800 |
| 6. | iVillage.com | 9,363,000 | 13,766,400 | 12,129,400 |
| 7. | UUnet | 9,345,000 | 7,793,500 | 17,138,500 |
| 8. | KBkids.com | 8,654,100 | 187,200 | 8,841,300 |
| 9. | Intel | 7,837,200 | 599,800 | 8,437,000 |
| 10. | Snap.com | 7,602,800 | 38,055,000 | 45,657,800 |
| 11. | Merrill Lynch | 7,309,100 | 1,609,000 | 8,918,100 |
| 12. | AltaVista | 7,079,000 | 4,851,700 | 11,930,700 |
| 13. | WebTV | 5,963,000 | 6,362,900 | 12,325,900 |
| 14. | CNET | 5,919,100 | 14,064,200 | 19,983,300 |
| 15. | Staples | 4,945,000< /td> | 258,700 | 5,203,700 |
| Source: Competitive Media Reporting | ||||
| Dot Com Spending by Media | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spending in US Dollars | ||||
| Rank | Measured Media | Oct. 99 | Jan-Sept. 99 | 10-Month Total |
| 1. | Network Television | 127,863,200 | 278,275,800 | 406,139,000 |
| 2. | Magazines | 75,450,600 | 265,085,100 | 340,535,700 |
| 3. | Cable TV | 71,864,800 | 202,627,000 | 274,491,800 |
| 4. | Spot Television | 65,345,100 | 166,928,300 | 232,273,400 |
| 5. | National Spot Radio | 59,560,800 | 154,621,400 | 214,182,200 |
| 6. | National Newspapers | 40,074,500 | 148,659,900 | 188,734,400 |
| 8. | Network Radio | 8,704,600 | 43,137,500 | 51,842,100 |
| 9. | Syndication | 6,514,100 | 5,715,200 | 12,229,300 |
| 10. | Sunday Magazine | 1,404,500 | 6,978,300 | 8,382,800 |
| Source: Competitive Media Reporting | ||||