About the only things which continue to grow in the current economy are things which are replacing existing services ‘ so internet advertising, already hell bent on replacing TV advertising as the leading way of putting message across to the public ‘ has continued to flourish despite an advertising downturn. Quarterly numbers this weekly which quantify that came out from the Interactive Advertising Bureau, showing that US internet advertising during 2008 reached $23.4 billion.
The numbers as usual are put together with the help of PricewaterhouseCoopers and show that growth is far slower than in previous years, up just 10.6% compared with estimates that say overall advertising was down by 2.6% from 2007 to 2008.
When we look back at this recession we think that the last quarter of 2008, when everyone’s head was in a spin and no-one was quite sure just how bad things were going to get (are they sure now?) may turn out to be the lowest point and in that period internet advertising in the US was barely up ‘ just 2.6% to $6.1 billion, and while this is the biggest ever quarter in US internet advertising, it was only up by $154 million from 2007’s fourth quarter, which had revenues of $5.9 billion.
‘We are seeing an ongoing secular shift from traditional to online media as marketers recognize that ad dollars invested in interactive media are effective at influencing consumers and delivering measurable results,’ said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the IAB. ‘In this uncertain economy, where marketers know they need to do more with less, interactive advertising provides the tools for them to build deep, engaging relationships with consumers’the experience marketers gain from this will deliver dividends especially after the economy turns around.’
Search remains the main driver of revenue growth according to the report, showing a 19.8% increase over 2007. Digital video, though still a small overall contributor, more than doubled its revenue with an increase to $734 million, from $324 million in 2007.
The same types of companies are leading the advertising shift to the internet as last year – retail, financial services, computing and automotive, which remain the four largest verticals among Internet advertisers.
Consumer packaged goods, an industry historically slow to embrace interactive advertising, has finally increased its share of total Internet ad revenues by 60% over 2007.
‘Though some categories in the fourth quarter slowed or even dipped, reflecting the current economic challenges, the overall performance is up, confirming interactive’s ever-growing importance to the successful marketing mix,’ said David Silverman, Partner, Assurance, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The survey includes data concerning online advertising revenues from Web sites, commercial online services, ad networks, free e-mail providers, and all other companies selling online advertising.
A copy of the full report is available at: http://www.iab.net/AdRevenueReport