Internet advertising in the United States recorded $2.2 billion in revenue for the Q4 2000, bringing total online revenue for the year to $8.2 billion, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Internet Ad Revenue Report conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
While the $2.2 billion shows an increase of 9% over the $1.986 billion for the Q3 2000, this increase is markedly lower than historical levels, and according to the IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers, it is reflective of the overall slowdown in ad revenue across all media sectors, in addition to a higher revenue base.
Ad spending by B2C companies constituted 31% of the total online ad spend in 2000 and 32% just in Q4. Computing was next with 18% of total adspend and 21% of the Q4 spend. Financial services, business services, and media were the next biggest categories. Banner ad revenues accounted for only 40% of ad revenues in Q4, down from 47% for the year as a whole. Sponsorships made up 31% of the Q4 spend and 28% of the year spend.
“The turbulence that has affected all advertising sectors in the past six months has also quite naturally impacted the Internet. While we have continued to grow as an industry, that growth has been tempered by the times, and I would expect that we will see this reflected in future reports,” noted Robin Webster, President & CEO of the IAB. “I believe that all interactive media have the ability to react quicker and with more creativity than more traditional advertising platforms, and can offer advertisers compelling new formats and channels to reach consumers. The new Interactive Marketing Unit guidelines that the IAB issued recently are a case in point. Their usage is growing and our members are reporting indications of success and acceptance by consumers. I am confident that we will continue to see the growing emergence of new ad formats and the integration of overall campaigns, with the Internet becoming an increasingly important part of the media buy.”
