Internet ad
spending hits a new high
IAB: 2008 grows 10.6 percent, to $23.4 billion
By Toni Fitzgerald
Mar 31, 2009
Web advertising isn’t growing at the pace it was two or three years ago, but it has managed to post another year of gains despite the deepening recession.
While nearly every other ad medium recorded year-to-year losses, web advertising hit a new yearly record for the fifth straight year.
Most promising of all, according to figures released yesterday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers, online actually saw gains during fourth quarter, when many other media were down double-digit percentages.
For full-year 2008, ad revenue was up 10.6 percent over 2007, from $21.2 billion to $23.4 billion.
By contrast, Nielsen Monitor-Plus recently reported that full-year advertising was off 2.6 percent across the media it measures. Local newspapers alone were off 10.2 percent.
In fourth quarter, internet ad revenue hit an all-time high of $6.1 billion, up 2.6 percent, or $154 million, over fourth quarter 2007. It marked the first time that quarterly web ad revenue has surpassed the $6 billion mark.
Certainly the web benefited from advertisers cutting back on traditional media and funneling money into less-expensive new media options.
Indeed, digital video, one of the newer online ad categories, saw investment more than double in 2008, going from $324 million in revenue to $734 million (see chart, below).
Search was still the main driver of online revenue growth, up 19.8 percent over the previous year and accounting for 45 percent of overall web spending at $10.55 billion.
In fact, search also explains why Nielsen had year-to-year internet spending sinking rather than rising. It pegged year-to-year ad revenue falling 6.4 percent on the web, but that did not include paid search.
Display advertising accounted for 33 percent of online revenue, according to IAB, or $7.64 billion, up slightly from $7.1 billion last year. The biggest chunk of that was banner ads at $4.9 billion, but video advertising saw the biggest year-to-year jump in the category.
Both classifieds, accounting for 14 percent of overall revenue at $3.2 billion, and email advertising, accounting for 2 percent at $405 million, were down slightly compared with the previous year.
Though online advertising was one of few media to see growth in 2008, there’s no doubt that the growth has slowed compared to past years, and forecasters see that growth continuing to slow over the next few years.
Part of that is simply that no category can maintain such torrid increases year after year, but it also reflects the impact of the ad recession generally.
In 2007, online ad revenue increased 26 percent over the previous year, and in 2006 it was up 35 percent.
Comparatively, this year’s growth was the slowest since 2002, the last year that online advertising suffered a year-to-year decline. Since then, yearly growth has ranged from 21 percent to 35 percent.
Late last year, eMarketer revised its 2009 online ad spending forecast. Though the online intelligence firm still expects advertising to grow this year, 8.9 percent, it’s down from its original forecast of 14.5 percent.
It expects ad spending to be up 10.6 percent in 2010.
***
Meanwhile, in online ratings for the week ended March 22, according to Nielsen Online, the top five parent companies remain unchanged for the second straight week, with Google leading, followed by Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL and Facebook. The top five brands were Google, Yahoo, MSN/Windows Live, Microsoft and AOL Media Network.
Vonage Holdings retained the top advertiser spot with 2.25 million impressions, up 31 percent from the previous week’s 1.71 million. Scottrade was second at 1.84 million impressions. Yahoo was the top advertising site, delivering 16.72 million impressions, followed by MySpace at a distant second with 2.44 million.
Sessions per person per week were unchanged from the previous week at 17. Domains visited per person declined slightly to 41, while PC time per person dropped 5 percent to 18 hours and 53 minutes.
|
2008 online ad spending by category |
| |
FY 2008
Share of revenue
$’s (000) |
FY 2007
Share of revenue
$’s (000) |
|
Search |
45% ($10,546) |
42% ($8,805) |
|
Display Related: |
33% ($7,640) |
33% ($7,072) |
|
-Banner Ads |
21% ($4,877) |
21% ($4,456) |
|
-Rich Media |
7% ($1,642) |
8% ($1,656) |
|
-Digital Video |
3% ($734) |
2% ($324) |
|
-Sponsorship |
2% ($387) |
3% ($636) |
|
Classifieds |
14% ($3,174) |
16% ($3,321) |
|
Referrals/Lead Generation |
7% ($1,683) |
7% ($1,584) |
|
E-mail |
2% ($405) |
2% ($424) |
|
Source: IAB |
|
Top 25 parent companies
Week ending March 22 |
|
#
|
Parent
|
Unique Audience (000)
|
Reach %
|
Time Spent per Person (hh:mm:ss)
|
|
1
|
Google
|
103,620
|
71.7
|
0:39:39
|
|
2
|
Microsoft
|
91,746
|
63.5
|
0:48:44
|
|
3
|
Yahoo!
|
84,894
|
58.8
|
1:08:41
|
|
4
|
AOL LLC
|
52,382
|
36.3
|
1:26:05
|
|
5
|
Facebook
|
45,484
|
31.6
|
1:08:50
|
|
6
|
News Corp. Online
|
43,010
|
29.8
|
0:33:11
|
|
7
|
eBay
|
33,704
|
23.3
|
0:50:05
|
|
8
|
InterActiveCorp
|
29,543
|
20.5
|
0:08:37
|
|
9
|
Amazon
|
28,104
|
19.5
|
0:14:30
|
|
10
|
Apple Computer
|
27,238
|
18.9
|
0:39:07
|
|
11
|
CBS Corporation
|
26,187
|
18.1
|
0:15:36
|
|
12
|
Walt Disney Internet Group
|
26,068
|
18.1
|
0:22:41
|
|
13
|
Wikimedia Foundation
|
24,550
|
17.0
|
0:08:45
|
|
14
|
New York Times Company
|
23,153
|
16.0
|
0:08:58
|
|
15
|
Turner Network (Division)
|
21,894
|
15.2
|
0:20:47
|
|
16
|
AT&T Inc.
|
18,495
|
12.8
|
0:16:18
|
|
17
|
The Weather Channel Interactive
|
17,783
|
12.3
|
0:11:10
|
|
18
|
CraigsList
|
16,306
|
11.3
|
0:45:34
|
|
19
|
Comcast Corp.
|
15,262
|
10.6
|
0:21:34
|
|
20
|
Glam Media
|
14,660
|
10.2
|
0:10:52
|
|
21
|
Verizon Communications
|
13,604
|
9.4
|
0:21:00
|
|
22
|
Viacom Digital
|
13,395
|
9.3
|
0:23:13
|
|
23
|
RealNetworks Inc.
|
13,145
|
9.1
|
0:16:00
|
|
24
|
Time Warner (Division)*
|
12,886
|
8.9
|
0:12:37
|
|
25
|
Bank of America
|
12,569
|
8.7
|
0:18:42
|
|
* Time Warner division excludes Turner Network’s audience
Source: Nielsen Online
Note: The parent level is defined as a consolidation of multiple domains and URLs owned by a single company or division.
|
|
Top 25 brands
Week ending March 22 |
|
|
Parent
|
Unique Audience (000)
|
Reach %
|
Time spent per person (hh:mm:ss)
|
|
1 |
Google
|
95,421
|
66.1
|
0:29:30
|
|
2 |
Yahoo!
|
84,144
|
58.3
|
1:08:50
|
|
3 |
MSN/Windows Live
|
67,023
|
46.4
|
0:51:37
|
|
4 |
Microsoft
|
62,037
|
43.0
|
0:16:12
|
|
5 |
AOL Media Network
|
52,382
|
36.3
|
1:26:05
|
|
6 |
Facebook
|
45,484
|
31.5
|
1:08:50
|
|
7 |
YouTube
|
42,315
|
29.3
|
0:25:24
|
|
8 |
Fox Interactive Media
|
35,951
|
24.9
|
0:32:54
|
|
9 |
Apple
|
27,238
|
18.9
|
0:39:07
|
|
10 |
eBay
|
26,466
|
18.3
|
0:51:44
|
|
11 |
Wikipedia
|
24,344
|
16.9
|
0:08:47
|
|
12 |
Amazon
|
21,241
|
14.7
|
0:14:30
|
|
13 |
Ask Search Network
|
20,646
|
14.3
|
0:08:31
|
|
14 |
Weather Channel Network
|
17,783
|
12.3
|
0:11:10
|
|
15 |
Blogger
|
17,576
|
12.2
|
0:08:08
|
|
16 |
CNN Digital Network
|
16,877
|
11.7
|
0:19:14
|
|
17 |
Craigslist
|
16,306
|
11.3
|
0:45:34
|
|
18 |
Glam Media
|
14,660
|
10.2
|
0:10:52
|
|
19 |
AT&T
|
14,354
|
9.9
|
0:19:12
|
|
20 |
About.com
|
14,247
|
9.9
|
0:03:35
|
|
21 |
Real Network
|
13,145
|
9.1
|
0:16:00
|
|
22 |
ESPN
|
12,804
|
8.9
|
0:23:53
|
|
23 |
Bank of America
|
12,569
|
8.7
|
0:18:42
|
|
24 |
CBS Sports
|
11,434
|
7.9
|
0:22:13
|
|
25 |
Comcast
|
11,251
|
7.8
|
0:26:31
|
|
Source: Nielsen Online
Note: The brand level is defined as a consolidation of multiple domains and URLs that has a consistent collection of branded content. |
|
Top 25 advertisers
(excludes house ads)
Week ending March 22 |
|
#
|
Company
|
Impressions (000)
|
|
1 |
Vonage Holdings Corp
|
2,246,556
|
|
2 |
Scottrade, Inc.
|
1,835,099
|
|
3 |
Sprint Corporation
|
1,129,103
|
|
4 |
Deutsche Telekom AG
|
1,044,092
|
|
5 |
AT&T Corp.
|
987,743
|
|
6 |
FreeScore.com
|
975,062
|
|
7 |
NexTag, Inc.
|
814,463
|
|
8 |
Experian Group Limited
|
795,882
|
|
9 |
E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp.
|
758,654
|
|
10 |
Verizon Communications, Inc.
|
753,759
|
|
11 |
Intuit, Inc.
|
580,114
|
|
12 |
Fidelity Investments
|
541,618
|
|
13 |
TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation
|
538,739
|
|
14 |
Southwest Airlines Co.
|
525,362
|
|
15 |
Microsoft Corporation
|
479,471
|
|
16 |
Netflix, Inc.
|
447,976
|
|
17 |
InterActiveCorp
|
441,387
|
|
18 |
eBay, Inc.
|
428,594
|
|
19 |
Apollo Group, Inc.
|
414,285
|
|
20 |
Skype Technologies S.A.
|
397,472
|
|
21 |
Progressive Casualty Insurance Company
|
394,934
|
|
22 |
EarnMyDegree.com
|
382,318
|
|
23 |
Idearc Media Corp
|
361,987
|
|
24 |
Ford Motor Company
|
341,398
|
|
25 |
College-Finder.net
|
340,820
|
|
Source: Nielsen Online, AdRelevance
Note: Nielsen Online, AdRelevance service estimated online advertising expenditures account for CPM-based image-based advertising. All reported estimated expenditures and impressions do not account for the following placement types: text only, paid fee services, performance-based campaigns, sponsorships, barters, in-stream ("pre-rolls") players, messenger applications, partnership advertising, promotions and email campaigns. AdRelevance currently does not report estimated spending for paid search advertising. Also, Nielsen Online, AdRelevance reporting data reflects advertising activity served on pages accessible via the World Wide Web and not within AOL's proprietary service. |
|
Top 25 advertising sites
(excludes house ads)
Week ending March 22 |
|
|
Company
|
Impressions (000)
|
|
1 |
Yahoo!
|
16,722,521
|
|
2 |
MySpace
|
2,442,921
|
|
3 |
MSN
|
1,806,437
|
|
4 |
AOL.com
|
1,545,067
|
|
5 |
FOXNEWS.COM
|
1,480,356
|
|
6 |
ESPN.com
|
989,911
|
|
7 |
Comcast.net
|
951,666
|
|
8 |
CNBC
|
740,650
|
|
9 |
Facebook
|
727,780
|
|
10 |
The Weather Channel
|
652,913
|
|
11 |
YouTube
|
558,127
|
|
12 |
eBay
|
450,782
|
|
13 |
AT&T Worldnet
|
384,813
|
|
14 |
MSNBC
|
354,595
|
|
15 |
New York Times
|
345,845
|
|
16 |
Charter.net
|
304,329
|
|
17 |
Juno
|
300,134
|
|
18 |
NeoPets
|
241,309
|
|
19 |
CNN Money
|
235,539
|
|
20 |
Verizon Online
|
211,237
|
|
21 |
CNN
|
208,106
|
|
22 |
Amazon
|
198,728
|
|
23 |
CBSSports.com
|
195,266
|
|
24 |
CSTV
|
185,843
|
|
25 |
Photobucket
|
180,800
|
|
Source: Nielsen Online, AdRelevance
Note: Nielsen Online, AdRelevance service estimated online advertising expenditures account for CPM-based image-based advertising. All reported estimated expenditures and impressions do not account for the following placement types: text only, paid fee services, performance-based campaigns, sponsorships, barters, in-stream ("pre-rolls") players, messenger applications, partnership advertising, promotions and email campaigns. AdRelevance currently does not report estimated spending for paid search advertising. Above data does not include any house advertising activity. Also, Nielsen Online, AdRelevance reporting data reflects advertising activity served on pages accessible via the World Wide Web and not within AOL's proprietary service. |
|
Average use
Week ending March 22 |
|
|
Current Week
|
Last Week
|
% Change
|
|
Sessions/Visits per Person
|
17
|
17
|
0
|
|
Domains Visited per Person
|
41
|
42
|
-2.38
|
|
PC Time per Person
|
18:53:15
|
19:53:01
|
-5.01
|
|
Active Digital Media Universe
|
144,439,328
|
143,978,275
|
0.32
|
|
Current Digital Media Universe Estimate
|
230,849,195
|
230,785,011
|
0.03
|
|
Source: Nielsen Online |
|
|
|
