• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, September 23, 2005

The New York Times Co. ran more online display ads last month than any other advertiser in the consumer goods category, according to recent data from Nielsen//NetRatings' AdRelevance. Online ads for consumer goods accounted for 5 percent of all online display ads last month; the total estimated ad spend for consumer goods display ads was $28.7 million.

The Times Co. was responsible for 9.2 percent of impressions in the consumer goods category last month--up from 1.1 percent in August of 2004. Many of those impressions promoted home-delivery of the hard copy of the paper.

Rhonda Novick, vice president, circulation and marketing at The New York Times, said the increased share of impressions reflected a decision to shift marketing dollars online. "Online opportunities are a newer area for us," Novick said. "We've been testing them over the last few years, and see they're paying out," she said.

Other consumer goods marketers to purchase significant online ads last month include The Coca-Cola Company, which accounted for 8.3 percent of impressions in the consumer goods space--up from .2 percent in August of 2004; Hydroderm Beverly Hills, which was responsible for 6.1 percent of consumer goods ads--down from 10.5 percent last year; and PepsiCo, Inc., which had 5.3 percent of consumer goods impressions--up from 1.5 percent last year.