IAB Releases 2008 Online Ad Revenue Report - Final Number - US$23.4 Billion

Early last week, the Interactive Advertising Bureau in the US released their final internet advertising revenue numbers for 2008. It seems that despite a difficult U.S. economy, interactive advertising’s continued growth, albeit at a slower pace, confirms marketers' increased recognition of the medium’s value in reaching consumers online where they are spending more and more of their time.

• Full-year 2008 revenues totaled a record $23.4 billion, exceeding 2007’s performance, itself the former record of $21.2 billion, by $2.2 billion or 10.6%. By comparison, a variety of sources indicate weakness in overall advertising spending. The Nielsen Company, for example, reported that U.S. advertising for the full year 2008 was down 2.6% compared to the full year 2007.
• Fourth-quarter revenues of $6.1 billion mark the first time the interactive advertising industry achieved, and surpassed, $6 billion in a single quarter. The figures represent a $154 million or 2.6% increase from 2007’s fourth quarter, which had revenues of $5.9 billion.
• This is the fifth consecutive year of record results.

Search remains the main driver of revenue growth according to the report, showing a 19.8% increase over 2007. Digital video, though still a small overall contributor, more than doubled its revenue with an increase to $734 million from $324 million in 2007, demonstrating how both marketers and consumers are embracing this dynamic platform.

You can watch the presentation to the media by the IAB and PriceWaterhouseCoopers which goes into greater detail around the numbers in the report.  Or, you can download and read the report for yourself.

Now, in the report you'll find current and historical charted data - but only to the turn of the century.  Here at OneDegree, thanks to Ken Schafer, you can see historical data charted since the IAB first started tracking - back to 1996.  Look at that trend line! You can click through for really big graph.

The Internet is now the third largest ad-supported medium, marking its increasing significance to marketers and consumers.