Sep 30, 2009

For the first time in the history, online advertising spending in the UK has overtaken television expenditure, reports BBC.

According to the study by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers, outlay grew 4.6% to £1.752bn between January and July.

According to the report, technology firms, with a 19% of the market, were the biggest spenders on online adverts. They are followed by telecoms firms, the finance sector and entertainment and media.

Recession Burning

A driving reason for this shift has been the arrival of recession, which accelerated the migration of advertising spending to digital technology.

The recession saw overall advertising crash by 16% in the same period, said the study.

As more marketers look to cutting costs but increasing the results, we will be seeing a shift from more traditional media such as print, radio and television advertising to online.

Online display advertising - such as banners - had "performed notably well against its peers in TV, print and radio", said Guy Phillipson, chief executive of the Internet Advertising Bureau.

This is true because when the going gets tough, marketers start to recognise the value, accountability and measurability of online advertising.

Differing Views

Thinkbox, the marketing body for the main UK commercial television broadcasters, said the figures did not compare like with like.

"Online marketing spend is made up of many things including e-mail, classified ads, display ads and, overwhelmingly, search marketing. They should be judged individually," said Lindsey Clay, Thinkbox's marketing director.

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