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When Detroit Sneezes Media Usually Catches A Cold But You Just Can’t Call Ford’s $8.7 Billion Q2 Loss A Sneeze --- Philip Stone July 30, 2008
Ford and General Motors together spend around $5.5 billion annually on advertising but take a look at their advertising spend trend over the past three years and it’s down each year. And when Ford released its record $8.7 Q2 loss it also announced it had cut its marketing budget by 50% for the quarter.

Advertising Rules Explained --- Michael Hedges July 9, 2008
Rules on advertising are getting tougher and, often, tediously specific. Ad rules appear in media laws, consumer protection rules and commercial codes. Regulators, lawyers all, delight in their craftsmanship as much as seeing broadcasters pour over every sentence and clause – and every new interpretation. It’s rare – and revealing – when a regulator explains it all.

That car you want to buy could end the world…and other advertising copy --- Michael Hedges June 17, 2008
Regulators unable to find workable solutions to real problems keep taking out their frustration on media, advertising and marketing. Restrictions and bans on tobacco, alcohol and junk food ads are meant to decrease demand for products carrying elements of risk – even when all legal. Now the European Commission is gearing up for an assault on automobile advertising in the name of environmental risk.

General Motors Cut Its Time Inc. Ad Spend In 2006 By $48 Million, But the Automaker Sponsors Three New AOL online-only programs – A Clear Example Of Ad Spend Drifting To Emerging Media --- Philip M. Stone - January 26, 2007
The Three Big US automakers –General Motors, Ford, and Daimler Chrysler -- cut their ad spend with Time Inc last year by more than $100 million which is one reason for the magazine group cutting 289 jobs this week, but the automakers weren’t just pocketing all of that unspent cash but rather they were directing more and more money to what is becoming known now as emerging media.

The Auto Advertising Spend Will Increase In Q4, But The Question Remains Where Will The Money Go? --- Philip M. Stone - October 12, 2006
A $750 million drop in US auto print advertising this year by domestic and foreign auto companies has already hit bottom lines with double-digit percentage revenue declines at most newspapers and generalist magazines, but the prevailing view was that print’s loss was the Internet’s gain. So when Yahoo announced that a slight drop in auto and financial advertising would adversely affect its 3rd quarter revenue forecasts Wall Street went into a tizzy.

When Yahoo’s Shares Are Hammered 12% Because A Drop In Auto Advertising Hurts 3rd Quarter Ad Revenue Forecasts Then You Begin To Understand The Enormity Of The $750 Million Tip Of The Print Auto Iceberg --- Philip M. Stone - September 20, 2006
A $750 million drop in US auto print advertising this year by domestic and foreign auto companies has already hit bottom lines with double-digit percentage revenue declines at most newspapers and generalist magazines, but the prevailing view was that print’s loss was the Internet’s gain. So when Yahoo announced that a slight drop in auto and financial advertising would adversely affect its 3rd quarter revenue forecasts Wall Street went into a tizzy.

US Automakers See Sales Drop Dramatically And For Newspapers Experiencing a Near 50% Drop in the Auto Spend “It’s A Melting Ice Cube All The Way Around.” --- Philip M. Stone - August 7, 2006
That the US automobile industry is in another crisis is no secret. Headlines blare out about Toyota overtaking Ford in June sales, how Chrysler Group sales fells 37% over a year ago, etc. etc., but for the media watcher the real story is how those automakers and their dealers are desperately trying to lure buyers back to the showroom. They are cutting way back on the newspaper spend, TV is still the biggest spend but recent “folksy” campaigns have flopped, and the Internet and mobile are increasing their popularity.

LiveDeal Ties Up With AdStar – Now An Online Ad Can Be Automatically Fed to the Local Newspaper’s Print Edition --- Philip M. Stone - July 26, 2006
It seems a no-brainer – newspapers partner LiveDeal, a specialist in online classifieds, and let LiveDeal do all the site maintenance, keeping its technology up-to-date, and they share the revenue. The Toronto Star liked the idea so much it actually invested in LiveDeal and then set up its own Canadian site that has been very successful since its January start.

Read Between the Lines Of Ford’s Announcement Of Its Double Digit Ad Spend Growth This Year And Traditional Media Should Not Cheer Too Much – A Lot of That New Spend Is Going Digital and Elsewhere --- Philip M. Stone - May 4, 2006
Traditional media, hard hit by automobile companies cutting back on their advertising spend because of poor sales and huge financial losses, thought it heard the announcement this week it has waited so long for -- Ford is boosting its advertising spend over the next 12 months. But look closely at how the company is going to spend that additional money and there’s no reason to uncork the champagne.

US Internet Advertising in 2005 Grew 30% Over 2004, and Newspapers Can Take Heart Their Web Sites Got About 16% of the Total, About Nine Times More Than TV Station Web Sites --- Philip M. Stone - April 24, 2006
The forecasts were about right – Internet advertising grew by 30% in 2005 and Q4 actually saw a 34% increase over the same quarter a year earlier, but some traditional media are doing better than others in taking advantage of the multi-platform approach. Newspapers are doing OK; TV has a long way to go.

A Drop in Auto Advertising Is Really Beginning To Hurt US Traditional Media, But It Is Nothing Compared To What Will Happen If GM’s Delphi Unit Goes on Strike In May And Shuts The Company Down. --- Philip M. Stone - April 10, 2006
Metaphorically, when General Motors sneezes, the advertising business catches cold. So with a threatened strike looming within the next couple of months at its Delphi parts offshoot, and analysts saying if it happens it will be a long strike, crippling GM and forcing it into bankruptcy (intensive care) then the advertising prognosis (spend) for America’s leading advertiser on its traditional clients may well leave them feeling faint.

The Good News For Newspapers Is that More People Than Ever Before Are Reading Their Online News Sites. The Bad News Is that One of Their Major Advertising Sectors – Automotive – Is Moving Much Of Its Spend to The Web, Too, But Not Necessarily To Newspaper Sites --- Philip M. Stone - February 6, 2006
US newspaper web sites continued to attract web crowds in record numbers during Q4, 2005 as some 35% of all active US web users spent time on a newspaper site. But that is about the only thing newspapers can find to celebrate, and with print circulations still in decline, and revenues basically flat there is now the added dose of bad news that newspaper classified automobile advertising has taken a nosedive, and all the signs are things will get worse, not better.

Can Newspapers Maintain Their 20% Plus margins in 2006 On Print Ad Revenue That Could Actually Decline By 1.5%? The Answer May Rest On The Advertising Opportunities Their Own Web Sites Provide. --- Philip M. Stone - January 12, 2006
If a publisher takes as a basic premise that the trends of past years will continue in 2006 – that print advertising growth will be less than 5% -- the bears say it will actually drop 1.5% and fear that is too optimistic -- and that Internet advertising will grow from 20-30%, is there any way to continue the usual 20% plus margins?

Cars and Radio: Together Forever? --- Michael Hedges March 8, 2010 Follow on Twitter
Through all the automobile design trends over seventy years several components have never changed; seats, motor, wheels and a radio. Popular music has chronicled “drivin’ in my car, turnin’ on the radio.” Consumers wouldn’t buy a car without a radio. Is there a problem?

Advertising, Enhancement And Economics --- Michael Hedges October 24, 2011 Follow on Twitter
That advertising powers a considerable portion of the media world is clear to one and all. The advertising people know this and leverage their investments for maximum benefit. Media people know it, too, and want their piece of the action. What advertising means to broader economics is the stuff of late night debate.

Great Ads Sell Dreams And Cars, Even Small Ones --- Michael Hedges June 9, 2010 Follow on Twitter
Advertising people love automobiles. Big budget brand campaigns make or break agencies, production houses and media buying services. Once upon a time, media outlets could count on the automobile sector for a third or more of their ad revenue. Automakers and their ad agencies have changed with the times.

Can Reviews Be Trusted? --- Philip Stone March 3, 2010 Follow on Twitter
If you can’t trust those with whom you do business then do you continue doing business with them? The Tiger Woods fiasco shows what can happen when loss of trust means loss of endorsements, so when a Web review site gets hit with a lawsuit claiming extortion via selling advertising contracts in exchange for removing or hiding bad reviews then what happens to the trust factor with that site?