• by Masha Geller , October 21, 2002

The IAB’s annual meeting in New York yesterday was brimming with optimism for the future, except for one presentation – the ad revenue report. According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers/IAB Internet Ad Revenue Report, Internet advertising revenue in the United States totaled $1.46 billion for the second quarter of 2002. The total reflects a 4.1% decline from Q1 2002, and a 21.9% decline from Q2 2001.

The first six months revenue for 2002 totaled $2.98 billion, off 20.8% from the comparable period of 2001. Additionally, the report revised its Q1 2001 estimate to $1.52 billion from the $1.55 billion reported earlier this year.

The IAB reported that in Q2 2002, the consumer-targeted category continued to be the largest overall segment for online advertising (32%) with the retail segment (44%) driving these ad revenues.

Also, large online ad selling companies continue to account for the lion’s share of online ad revenue, which mirrors most of the other media sectors.

The part of the report that everyone is always curious about brought no surprises: banners still count for 32% of all ads run on the web (down from 36% in the first half of last year), sponsorships account for 24% (28% last year), and classifieds for 15% (16% in 2001). Notably, keyword search tripled from this time last year to 9% of format share.

“The results for the first half of this year come as no surprise to the industry and continue to reflect that weakened media market which all ad sectors have experienced for the first half of 2002,” said IAB president & CEO Greg Stuart. “That said, we are heartened by some very clear indicators that the overall market is improving.”