Nineteen ninety-eight was a very good year for television advertising in Canada. In fact, according to Statistics Canada, it was the best ever.

Television ad revenue for the broadcast year ending August 1998 increased more than 10% over 1997, bringing the final tally to $2.3 billion, StatsCan says.

Unfortunately, the industry does not expect to see the same gains in 1999.

Jim Patterson, president and CEO of the Television Bureau of Canada, predicts 1999 will be a year of consolidation rather than exponential growth.

The top three categories contributing to 1998’s solid results were food, automotive and retail. Each registered solid gains in 1998 over 1997, according to ACNielsen data.

In addition, Patterson says there was a surge in entertainment and financial services advertising, the latter being one of the largest growth categories.

He says companies in these categories turn to television advertising because it is the most effective medium for developing strong brand images.

‘There’s no question about that,’ he says. ‘Even heavy newspaper advertisers would agree that television is the way to brand.’