• February 14, 2007

Local online video advertising will account for $371 million this year, or 5% of total online ad spending, according to a new report by Borrell Associates. By 2012, that figure will surge to $5 billion, or 35% of local online ad budgets, Borrell predicts in its report, "The New Frontier: Local Online Video Advertising."

Peter Conti, senior vice president with Borrell, predicted that the growth in local video would come at the expense of banners and classifieds listings. Conti added that local advertisers will be particularly eager to target video ads -- an ability that they've found elusive offline.

"These are the people who can't afford TV advertising," he said. "It's that kind of video and that kind of marketing that they've never been able to do or afford before, and it's affordable on a much more effective and efficient medium." -- Shankar Gupta