from Lewis Lazare: Though the ad industry itself is in a bit of the doldrums here in Chicago, the business of advertising still packs a wallop in terms of its economic impact locally, according to a new study by Global Insight on behalf of the Advertising Coalition.
The coalition is made up of nine advertising trade organizations, included among them the American Advertising Federation and the American Association of Advertising Agencies.
According to the new study, the total revenue impact of advertising spending on the city in 2005 will reach $182 billion — about 22.5 percent of the city’s projected total $805 billion economic activity.
That ad spending figure includes $86 billion in direct impact on area sales, a $42 billion impact on supplier economic activity and another $53 billion in inter-industry spending.
The study also revealed that some 737,971 jobs are supported by advertising spending in the city.
I would bet the total of 737,971 jobs supported by advertising in Chicago left out the dozens of State of Illinois Unemployment Office workers that have to deal with the yearly holiday layoffs at Leo Burnett and other agencies in the city.