First Half of 2009: $10.9 Billion in Online Ad Revenues, Down 5.3%

According to a recent report released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), Internet advertising revenues in the U.S. during the first half of 2009 were $10.9 billion, reflecting a 5.3 percent decline from the same time span last year.

The “IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report” found that search advertising remained the largest recipient of online ad spending as $5.1 billion was spent on the format in the first six months of 2009, or 47 percent of the total. This compares to $5.1 billion spent on search ads in the first half of 2008, or 44 percent of the total.

Display ads ranked second as $3.8 billion was spent on this format in the first half of this year, or 34 percent of the total. This compares to $3.8 billion spent on display ads in the same period last year, or 33 percent of the total.

Under display ads, banner ads were the biggest format with $2.4 billion in spending, or 22 percent of the total. Rich media was second with $704 million, or 7 percent, followed by digital video with $477 million, or 4 percent, and sponsorship with $184 million, or 2 percent.

Classifieds saw spending of $1.1 billion in the first half of 2009, or 10 percent of the total online spending. This reflected a noticeable decline from the $1.6 billion in spending in the first half of 2008, or 14 percent of that year’s spending.

Referrals/lead generation saw $728 million in spending, or 7 percent of the total, while e-mail saw $149 million in spending, or 1 percent of the total, according to the report.

Despite bearing one of the worst economic climates in decades, “Interactive is one of the advertising sectors that has been least affected,” said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the IAB.

“In recent years the digital revolution has driven a transformation of how consumers experience advertising and media. As the economy improves, we’re confident that brands will devote an even greater share of their budgets to reaching consumers as they make interactive media a larger part of their lives.”

David Silverman, PwC Assurance partner, added that “While the overall advertising market has continued to be impacted by current economic conditions, marketers are allocating more of their dollars to digital media for its accountability and because consumers are spending more of their leisure time online.”

The report also showed that more money was being spent on performance deals in the first half of 2009 than in the first half of last year. Nearly $6.4 billion was spent on performance deals in the first six months of 2009, or 58 percent of the total, reflecting an increase from the $6.3 billion spent on these deals in the first half of 2008, or 54 percent of the total.

CPM deals saw $4.1 billion in spending, or 38 percent of the total during the first half of 2009, compared with $4.8 billion in spending in the first six months of last year, or 42 percent of the total.

Hybrid deals saw $478 million in spending, or 4 percent of total spending, down from $500 million in spending, or 4 percent of total spending in the same period last year.

In the second quarter of 2009, online ad revenues totaled $5.4 billion, which was $313 million, or 5.4 percent down from the second quarter of 2008, and $36 million, or 0.7 percent down from the first quarter of 2009.

Retail advertisers led the way with $2.2 billion in online ad spending, or 20 percent of the total during the first six months of this year. This was down from $2.4 billion in the same period last year.

Telecom (including ISPs) (16 percent), financial services (12 percent), automotive (11 percent), computing (10 percent), consumer packaged goods, (6 percent), leisure travel (6 percent), entertainment (4 percent), pharmaceuticals and healthcare (4 percent) and media (4 percent) rounded out the top 10 industries in the first six months of 2009.

Sources:</strong

http://www.iab.net/about_the_iab/recent_press_releases/press_release_archive/press_release/pr-100509

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/10/05/online-ad-revenue-tops-10-billion

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/05/u-s-internet-ad-revenues-decline-5-3-in-first-half-2009/