The US advertising marketplace is in the midst of a digital revolution that is transforming and reshaping the industry. Three key drivers shaping this transition areincreased media fragmentation, increased competition for attention, and emerging consumer expectations. These will have a profound effect on the advertising industry in the years ahead, and as such, we must also question and challenge our business practices and methodologies today.
In the US, TNS Media Intelligence has been measuring ad spending since 1926. Today, they are the leading providers of strategic advertising information, currently reporting on more than $140 bn in ad expenditures, tracking more than 190 million ad occurrences every year. With hundreds of new brands being added daily, they now monitor upwards of 2.1 million brands across a wide landscape that covers some 20 media. So, as a company, TNS Media Intelligence has a great vantage point from which to observe the industry.
The trend picture over the past five years for the US advertising market is healthy, despite the challenges of the underlying environmental change. The past five years have, no doubt, been uncertain times for the advertising industry. Terrorism has increased on an unparalleled scale, corporate misdeeds shook investor confidence, and government rulings shaped and continue to change the way certain advertising messages can be brought to the marketplace. They've seen businesses expand across the globe as new opportunities to create international partnerships have emerged. And, perhaps most significantly, the past five years have shown continued and accelerated advancement of digital technologies that have brought new capabilities to the advertising marketplace.
The advertising market has shown a surprising resilience in the face of a constantly changing environment-a sign of the robustness of the business. It is interesting to note that after peaking in 2000, the only down year for the ad market occurred in 2001, when the economy began to sag and 9/11 changed our lives forever. Coming off this low point in 2001, there have been two consecutive years of growth in 2002 and 2003. And 2004 is poised to be the strongest year of the post 9/11 era.
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