Online ad spending dropped 10% for the first half of 2001 compared to first-half revenues in 2000, according to the latest figures from CMRi, the Internet division of CMR, a provider of strategic
advertising and marketing communication information.
"Although we saw a gradual increase for online spending in the last quarter of 2000, the economic environment did not exclude this medium from
the drastic hit we've seen across the entire marketplace throughout the course of 2001," said David Peeler, president and CEO of CMR.
"As budget planning for 2002 gets under way, companies still
recovering from their losses will be reluctant to channel their dollars towards major ad campaigns. With this mindset, we do not expect a jump-start in spending to kick in by first quarter 2002, as
many have hoped."
CMRi estimates that Internet ad spending for the first half of 2001 totaled $1.5 billion. Yahoo continued to drive overall website revenues with a total of $197.3 million in the
first half of 2001, compared to $194 million for the same timeframe in 2000 - an increase of approximately 1.69%.
Among all parent companies, General Motors led Internet spending with $25.4
million for the first half of 2001. Closely matching GMs expenditure and aggressive push in advertising is Ebay Inc. with $24.4 million. Also topping the list of advertisers are Internet parent
companies Amazon.com Inc. and Classmates Online Inc., spending $16.2 million and $15.1 million respectively.