Total communications spending increased 6.8% to a record $885.2 bln in 2006 and expanded at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% from 2001 to 2006, exceeding GDP growth in both periods, according to the VSS Communications Industry Forecast. For the first time since 1997, consumers spent less time with media in 2006 than they did the previous year, as media usage per person declined 0.5% to 3,530 hours, due to changing consumer behaviors and digital media efficiencies. Spending on alternative advertising ? including Internet, mobile, videogames and digital out-of-home, among others ? grew 36.6% to $26.53 bln in 2006 and posted a CAGR of 23.9% from 2001 to 2006. Traditional advertising spending, however, grew only 2.4% to $183.21 bln in 2006 while producing a CAGR of 2.8% in the five-year period, hindered by slow growth in print-based newspapers, yellow pages and consumer magazines. Meanwhile, spending on alternative marketing ? including branded entertainment, interactive marketing and e-custom publishing ? increased 17.3% to $61.67 bln in 2006, and experienced a CAGR of 15.3% from 2001 to 2006. In contrast, spending on traditional marketing, such as direct mail and promotions, grew only 5.0% to $192.34 bln in 2006 and climbed at a CAGR of 4.5% from 2001 to 2006.