China moved from the world’s 10th largest advertiser in 2000 to third largest behind the US and Japan by the end of 2001, according to Nielsen Media Research. The monitoring agency estimated that advertising spending in China grew by 15 per cent in 2001 to exceed US$11bn. By contrast, spending in developed markets such as North America shrank by 7 per cent in the year.
Another media firm, Zenith Media, has forecast that China’s advertising market growth would exceed 10 per cent in 2002.