Online Adspend To Overtake Radio By Christmas
Online advertising spend looks set to overtake that of radio by Christmas following a period of sustained growth, according to new figures from the Internet Advertising Bureau and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Online had not been expected to overtake radio in terms of adspend until 2007, but the latest research shows that the rapid growth of paid-for search and recruitment advertising has given the industry an unexpected shot in the arm.
The value of paid-for advertising listings on search engines leapt by a staggering 109% in the first half of 2004 to a value of £114.3 million, up from £54.7 million in the same period the previous year. The sector is now valued at around one and a half times the size of cinema and shows no signs of slowing.
The figures show that recruitment advertising is currently the largest single online category in terms of adspend. Its share of the UK’s online advertising market grew from 24.1% in the second half of 2003 to a current level of 29.9%.
Display formats also saw significant growth during the first half with embedded banners and skyscrapers rising by 31.4% year on year to more than £73 million. The classified sector increased by 45% during the same period to just under the £68 million mark.
With all sectors and formats included, the online advertising market now represents 3.4% of total UK advertising spend, up from a figure of 3.2% quoted earlier this year. This means the sector has already crossed the half billion mark at £507 million.
Commenting on the figures, Danny Meadows-Klue, chief executive of the IAB said: “Online is now mainstream media and any marketer not treating it as an important element in their media strategy is simply failing to talk with a large group of their customers.”
He added: “Direct marketers are gravitating to search as their new customer acquisition tool. Search brings buyers and sellers together at their very moment of greatest interest in a service; providing the hottest of prospects, the most qualified of leads.”
Earlier this week the Interactive Advertising Bureau appointed integrated brand and design agency Neoco Design to revamp its corporate identity and assist in the push to accelerate internet advertising spend. The industry body is also planning to launch the first of a series of ‘ebooklets’ and industry magazines this month focusing on a range of topics affecting businesses advertising online (see IAB Appoints Agency To Boost Image In Online Push).
IAB: 020 8683 955 www.iabuk.net
Recent New Media Stories from NewsLine Associated New Media Creates Dedicated Research Arm C&W Rivals BT With Four Times Faster Broadband Offering UK Broadband Usage To Double In Six Months
Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive