Commentary

Web Ad Revenues At $17 B in First Half Set Record

According to the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Pwc US, internet advertising revenues climbed to an all-time high of $17 billion, in the first half of 2012, representing a year-over-year 14% increase.

Highlights of the report include:

  • Mobile generated significant growth, up 95% to $1.2 billion in the 1st half of 2012 from $636 million in the comparable 2011 period
  • Digital video, a component of display-related advertising, saw an increase of 18% year-over-year, bringing in a little over $1 billion in revenue in the first two quarters of 2012 compared to nearly $900 million in the first six months of 2011
  • Search revenues in the first half of the year totaled $8.1 billion, up 19% from nearly $6.8 billion during the same timeframe in 2011
  • Display-related advertising revenues in the first half of the year totaled almost $5.6 billion, accounting for 33% of 2012 half-year revenues, up 4% from $5.3 billion in the first half of 2011
  • Retail advertisers constitute the largest category of internet ad spending for the first half of this year, claiming 20% of the total revenues at $3.4 billion, while Automotive brought in $2.2 billion for first-half 2012, marking an uptick to 13% versus 11% of category spend reported for half-year 2011 at $1.7 billion

Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB, says that  “... this report establishes that marketers increasingly embrace mobile and digital video (and) interactive platforms... on the heels of a study from Harvard Business School... that points to the ad-supported internet ecosystem as a critical driver of the U.S. economy... “

Half-Year Internet Ad Revenue Since 2008

1st Half of Year

Revenue ($ in Millions)

% Growth

2012

$17,028 m

14%

2011

$14,941

23%

2010

$12,127

11%

2009

$10,900

-5%

2008

$11,510

15%

Source: IAB/PwC, October 2012

David Silverman, a partner at PwC US, says “... bringing the power of the Internet to mobile devices has opened up a world of possibilities to both consumers and marketers...”

Internet Ad Revenues (% Share of Total)

Industry

1st Half 2011

1st Half 2012

Retail

23%

20%

Financial services

13

13

Auto

11

13

Telecom

14

12

Computing products

10

8

Leisure travel

8

8

Pharma & healthcare

4

6

CPG

6

5

Mediapost

4

4

Entertainment

4

4

Source: IAB/PwC, October 2012

Sherrill Mane, Senior Vice President, Research, Analytics and Measurement, IAB, observes that  “... double-digit growth in a stagnating economy is a significant accomplishment... CPMs are maintaining, and even increasing, further substantiating the vitality of the internet ad market... ”

Ad Category Breakouts (in millions)

 

1st Half 2012

 

Percent of Total

$ in Millions

Search

48%

$8,128

Display Related

33%

$5,586

  -Banner Ads

21%

$3,622

  -Digital Video Commercials

6%

$1,053

  -Rich Media

3%

$495

  -Sponsorship

2%

$416

Mobile*

7%

$1,242

Classifieds

7%

$1,160

Referrals/Lead Generation

5%

$834

E-mail

0%

$78

Source: IAB/PwC, October 2012

For additional details from the report, please visit the IAB here.

 

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