Dr Pepper Snapple Group is snatching up television ad space abandoned by failed car dealerships and banks to help put A&W root beer and Mott’s apple juice on the air for the first time in at least seven years.
The company is getting 5 percent to 10 percent more ad time for the same money in regional markets as stations cut prices, marketing chief Jim Trebilcock said Thursday. Dr Pepper Snapple spent $356 million on marketing and ads last year and says that amount will increase in 2009.
“We’ve been getting pretty good programming and rates as people have had to drop out,” Trebilcock said. “Whatever we’re saving, we’re putting back into advertising, so we’re actually buying more media as a result.”
Local TV ad revenue in the U.S. dropped 3.4 percent to $4.57 billion in the fourth quarter as consumer confidence plunged. Dr Pepper Snapple is putting a larger portion of its marketing budget into television, Trebilcock said.
