US big advertisers boost 2012 spending by $104.5bn with a lift from tech

The 100 Leading National Advertisers spent an estimated $104.5 billion on US advertising last year, up just 2.8 percent from 2011, according to Ad Age. That represented the lowest growth rate since the ad recovery began in 2010 and left total spending still shy of pre-recession levels.

Caution is the watchword as marketers – forever under pressure to deliver results to Wall Street – scrounge to save money where they can. For many, that means shifting to digital, trimming non-media portions of the ad budget or simply holding the line on ad spending.

Still, some industries have loads of market share up for grabs, leading to big investments by major players.

At the top of that list is technology, which scored the highest ad-spending growth among LNA categories, rising 13.6 percent, driven by fierce competition in the consumer-electronics space.

Samsung Electronics was in a galaxy all its own as it continued to battle Apple in mobile devices. It boosted 2012 US ad spending 57.6 percent, the fastest growth among the 100 LNA, according to Ad Age estimates.