Wonder where the money went? GM cut one-quarter of its adspend last year

One of the most subtantial legs supporting magazine advertising has been significantly whittled away. General Motors, according to TNS Media Intelligence, slashed more than $600 million, or almost a quarter, of its ad spending last year. This, according to a story in Advertising Age.

The story pointed out that the cut was greater than the total advertising spending of Nike or Volkswagen.

GM said that its cut was only 10%, but TNS stands by its methodology which was the same year over year. Even 10% is a huge blow to so-called "traditional media".

Whether the cut was as large as the 23.6% indicated by TNS or closer to the 10% estimated by GM, the fact is that the country's second-largest advertiser is demonstrating a shift toward channels such as direct marketing, websites, online video, event marketing, branded entertainment and internet advertising, which are harder to track than the other major media channels. That could have major repercussions, not only for "old" media companies, underscoring their need to accelerate the shift to digital platforms, but also for ad agencies whose direct and digital siblings increasingly outstrip them in revenue and who may be tempted to reunite those growing units with their stagnating ad offerings.

The GM data gathered by TNS is largely U.S. but reflects a proportional cut in Canada since GM has an integrated approach to ad spending. For many of the key titles in the Canadian consumer market, automotive advertising is an important contributor.