• by January 28, 2002

Internet Profiles Corporation (I/PRO) today announced the results of a survey of nearly 150 advertising executives from online and offline media, which showed that advertisers believe that online advertising holds strong promise despite the recent economic slide, and overwhelmingly agree that the industry needs better and more trusted site measurement standards.

"These results bode well for the future of the online advertising industry. The advertisers that took part in this survey agree that online advertising is far from dead, and they know what it will take to restore the industry's growth," said Ray Kingman, CEO of TopicalNet, I/PRO's parent company.

The respondents clearly find online advertising to hold promise, ranking it far above print, radio and television in its potential for flexibility, ease of performance measurement and speed of response. In a striking show of support for third party site measurement, nearly 90% of online advertisers agree or strongly agree that website visitor statistics should be validated by a third party.

The study also found that 75% of respondents think the traffic statistics in websites' media kits are inaccurate.

Additionally, measurement standards and more reliable targeting are the two greatest factors needed to make online advertising more effective, cited by 72% and 63% respectively.

And, when asked why they do not advertise on the Internet, "Lack of reliable performance measures" is cited by 36% of the respondents, more than any other answer.

Those respondents who advertise on the Internet see two key areas where improvement is needed most: measurement standards and targeting. Similarly, those who choose not to advertise online cite a lack of measurement standards as the biggest weakness of online advertising.

A white paper outlining the full findings of the I/PRO Ad Leaders Survey is available for download at www.ipro.com.