Home  Latest News Internet ad spending overtakes TV
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Internet ad spending overtakes TV |
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 Scottish firms looking to advertise are increasingly turning to the internet as online advertising spending in the UK has overtaken television expenditure for the first time, says a new report.
Spending on internet advertising grew by 4.6% to £1.752bn between January and July, according to the study by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers, despite the entire advertising sector contracting by over 16%.
The UK remains the world leader in terms of market share with the medium accounting for 23.5% in the first half of 2009.
According to the report, the results signal a significant restructure of marketing budgets as advertisers follow their audiences online and look to the internet for even more measureable and accountable methods.
And while the news has come as no surprise to those in the industry, many believe that TV advertising still has a crucial role to play in firm’s communications.
Iain Dubrey, managing director of media buyers Direct Media Group, said: “Although the various television networks have had to adjust costs due to the economic downturn, as far as cost per thousand is concerned, TV advertising is vastly more expensive than online advertising and quite simply does not have the same reach.
“Undoubtedly this trend will continue as the future is with online and other emerging technologies. Advertising clients recognise this as they will get a better return and bang for their buck from their investment.
“And while the emerging technologies such as the ever evolving internet advertising were bound to eventually overtake older forms of advertising medium such as television advertising, we have many clients planning new TV campaigns showing television advertising still has its place.”
Charlotte Bell of media buying agency Feather Brooksbank said while the news came as no surprise to them, they have seen firms spending unwisely due to a lack of knowledge about the relatively new online advertising field.
She said: “In recessionary times businesses need to focus on immediate revenue generation. As a result, online spend is being driven by search activity; it accounts for 60% of internet advertising expenditure and delivers immediate and very measurable results for direct response businesses.
“Unfortunately, we've seen many cases recently where a lack of knowledge and expertise has resulted in this spend being deployed in an inefficient manner - we'd advise organisations to invest time in understanding best practice. As the economy starts to improve we would expect the online sector to remain strong although we will see a return to the mass market media such as TV, as businesses start to invest in their long term future.”
But the marketing body for UK commercial television broadcasters said that the comparison was unfair as the figures did not compare like for like.
Lindsey Clay of Thinkbox said: "Online marketing spend is made up of many things including e-mail, classified ads, display ads and, overwhelmingly, search marketing. They should be judged individually.
"To set them up in competition is a mistake and misses their complementary relationship."
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