IEG say that the increase marks the sixth consecutive year that the growth rate will be higher than the year before and the biggest jump since 2000. Spending in 2007 was up 11.5 per cent over 2006, just slightly below IEG projection a year ago of 11.7 percent growth.
IEG predict the US presidential election and the Beijing Olympic Games will help boost ad spending in 2008 and that sponsorship's growth rate will continue to far outpace increases for traditional media buys.
And IEG predict a greater proportion of the 2008 sponsorship dollars will go to sports properties, with sports taking 69 per cent of sponsorship spend, some $11.6 billion. Spending on sports properties in 2007 was $9.94 billion, making the projected increase 16.7 per cent.
