As print newspaper ad revenue is trending down, online ad revenue is on an upward track after a brief dip for the recession.
The chart is from a blog post on IAB.net and clearly shows that the growth in online ad revenue is roaring ahead after a dip in 2008.
“The year-over-year growth between Q1 2011 and Q1 2012 sets quite a milestone,” said David Silverman, Partner, PwC U.S. “Moreover, a 15 percent increase over the comparable period in 2011 is a solid affirmation the internet is delivering on its promise to attract consumers and the advertising dollars that follow.”
From a related post on MarketingCharts.com you can learn that online ad revenue beat cable TV ad revenues for the first time ever:
The Q1 growth comes after April 2012 figures, also from the IAB and PwC, showing that internet advertising revenues reached a record $31.74 billion in 2011, representing a 21.9% increase from $26.04 billion in 2010. This was the most rapid year-over-year growth since 2007 (26%), and drove online ad revenues past cable TV ad revenues (including national networks and local cable TV), which were $30 billion. Looking back over the past 10 years, the April report notes that online ad revenues have a compound annual growth rate of 20.3%, with 29 of 36 quarters since 2003 seeing positive growth.
Outpacing cable TV ad revenue is another milestone for online advertising and realizing that this was accomplished before we feel the effects of the new DVRs that automatically skip commercials or the effect that tablet computers are beginning to have on viewing habits makes us wonder how much longer TV will be immune to the popularity of the Internet. Look what has happened to newspaper ad revenue in the last ten years, now TV may be at the edge of the cliff.
It’s imperative that you have a local digital strategy that moves your independent retailers from spending their money and yours on the increasingly less effective traditional media to the more effective digital solutions.