• by Laurie Petersen , June 13, 2007

As marketers continue to shift their advertising spending to less expensive digital media options, TNS Media Intelligence adjusted its projection for total U.S. ad spending downward to $152.3 billion--a 1.7% increase for 2007.

TNS MI raised its projection to a 16% increase for Internet display ad spending in 2007.

Steven J. Fredericks, TNS MI president and CEO, said it appears that total measured expenditures will post their smallest annual gain since the 2001 advertising recession. Total first-half spending is projected to advance by just 1.2%, while the second half of the year is expected to post a gain of 2.3%, TNS MI estimates.

"We're still seeing a strong influx of ad dollars to the Internet and away from media such as newspaper and radio," said Jon Swallen, senior vice president of research for TNS Media Intelligence. "The underlying fundamentals remain very strong for the Internet with the better targeting opportunities and measurable ROI."

Meanwhile, Nielsen//Net Ratings AdRelevance, which measures different factors from TNS MI, issued its first-quarter preliminary spending figures yesterday and reported an increase of 31.9% for the first three months of Internet ad spending.