The number of top US companies launching online advertising campaigns rose by 6% year on year in 2002, according to figures from Nielsen//NetRatings.
The survey shows that 286 of the Fortune 500 advertisers – the top 500 companies by revenue – used the internet for a marketing campaign during the course of the year. This is up from 270 companies the year before.
The top advertiser in Q4 2002 was Amazon.com. Whilst being ranked at 492 on the Fortune 500 list, Amazon.com clocked up 12.2 billion ad impression during the holiday season.
“Fortune 500 advertising has grown steadily in the past year, as large traditional advertisers are discovering how the online medium can be used to reach desirable target audiences,” said Charles Buchwalter, vice president of client analytics, Nielsen//NetRatings. “The stage is set for the web’s share of these companies’ marketing budgets to increase throughout 2003.”
