Internet ad spending will rise to $32.5 billion in 2008, up 36 percent from this year's estimated $23.9 billion, according to a report issued Monday by ZenithOptimedia. The report pegged last year's
online ad spend at $18.5 billion--considerably higher than the Interactive Advertising Bureau's
estimate of $12.5 billion. ZenithOptimedia estimated that financial services advertisers were
the biggest online spenders last year, accounting for $1.6 billion; telecommunications companies were a close second, with $1.5 billion in online ad spending, followed by retailers ($1.3 billion), car
companies ($700 million), and pharmaceuticals ($300,000).
