The online advertising industry will be celebrating this Christmas with the latest figures showing that adspend topped £151 million in the first half of this year to give the sector a record market share of 2%.
Research published by the
Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that online advertising reached record levels in the first half of 2003. The growth means the IAB has hit its target for a 2% share of the market nine months early and confirms that the internet advertising market is now twice the size of cinema and half the size of radio.
The half year audit values the internet market at £266.5 million for the twelve months between 1 July 2002 to 31 June 2003. More importantly, as the industry is predicting a record breaking online retailing boom during the fourth quarter of 2003, the IAB is confident total online advertising spend for 2003 will reach £300 million for the first time, more than £100 million up on 2002.
The IAB has attributed the record growth to a realisation by mainstream marketers that the internet can play a powerful brand building role additional to being a direct selling medium. Key drivers behind the growth include the relentless rise of internet audiences and the increasingly important role the internet plays in the daily lives of many consumers.
Commenting on the figures, Danny Meadows-Klue, chief executive of the IAB, said: “Audiences have switched to online and marketers are following. The internet has become a mainstream media channel and these record breaking levels are a watershed that cannot be matched by any other media. The tide has turned, fuelled by rapid product innovation and unstoppable audience growth as British consumers have turned to the internet for everything from entertainment and job hunting to shopping and news.”
Paul Pilkington, senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers, added: “Issues surrounding measurement and monitoring of ad delivery and effectiveness have continued to be addressed by the industry as a whole, and this has been reflected in increased confidence, and growth in revenues. We hope the increasing penetration of third party assurance in these areas will stimulate further growth in the future.”
Online advertising revenues in the US grew by 20% in the third quarter of the year, according to IAB figures (see US Internet Advertising Revenue Rises 20% In Q3).
