Companies and organisations spent over €3bn on advertising in the first six months of this year, up 9.4% on a year ago and 3.5% up on the 2008 first half, according to new figures from the Nielsen research group.

Television accounts for half of the market, while newspapers clawed back some market share and now claim 15.4% of the total spend. Both magazines and internet saw a decline in spending.
Supermarkets and furniture shops were among the biggest growth markets.