More Revenue, Traffic For Internet Brands That Advertise On TV

A new study says TV advertising is the primary driver of revenues and traffic for some of the biggest Internet companies.

Of 75 “pure-play” Internet brands -- businesses [that] are solely reliant on Internet traffic to drive revenue -- nearly 90% of those companies' marketing activities (63 of 75 brands) show a direct connection between TV spending and higher Web site traffic, according to the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau and using Nielsen Ad Views data.

Looking at 12 categories, Internet revenue grew sharply for every dollar spent on TV advertising to $46.26 in 2013 -- up from $12.20 (the second year on TV) and $11.06 (the first year of advertising on TV).

The survey says the 75 largest “pure-play” Internet brands spent more than $4 billion on TV ads in 2013 -- an increase of 37% over 2009.

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In 2013, Web site TV advertising totaled $2.966 billion for cable networks; $688 million for broadcast; $358 million for spot broadcast; and $110 million in syndication. Cable advertising climbed from $2.321 billion in 2012; $2.087 billion in 2011; and $1.709 billion in 2010.

The survey examined ad categories including auto, travel, dating, gaming, care-giving, entertainment, educational, financial, insurance, business services, and retail. The study says 11 different ad categories witnessed higher revenue from the first year on-air using TV advertising.

Comparing the periods -- February through August 2013 and September through April 2014 -- thirty-eight of those Internet advertisers that spent more averaged 33% more unique visitors, while the 25 advertisers that spent less averaged 22% fewer uniques.

The study says, for example, that when Internet consumer travel company Priceline cut TV spending 26% during the period, it ended up with 24% fewer unique visitors. When Ancestry increased spending 22% it saw a 21% increase in unique visitors.

 
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