Online and Hispanic TV Lead Ad Growth in 2006
ClickZ reports on the latest TNS study, which estimates that online display advertising was up 17.3% in 2006. Hispanic TV was up 13.9%. Overall ad spending was up only 4.3%. Blue chip brands spent an average of 4% of their total budgets online, lower than the 6.5% average share industry wide:
“One reason blue-chip advertisers spend less online is it’s hard to find inventory to spend more on, [TNS Senior VP of Research Jon] Swallen believes. ‘Part of it is scale. For Procter & Gamble to put 6.5 percent of its marketing budget into the Internet, they’d change the name from Google to Procter & Gamble,’ he said.“
Hold on — not enough inventory? There is endless inventory online. Google isn’t pushing text-ad PSAs because they’re committed to those charities! I’d argue instead that this is more evidence that brand advertisers are still not confident that the contextual-relevance algorithms at Google and the ad networks can deliver enough quality inventory.
I couldn’t agree more, Chas. Recently I have read where some blue chip national advertisers have invested in local college sports websites during this mania called March Madness. Even more interesting, these national advertisers, (Pontiac & Ford), went directly to the schools to negotiate the purchase.
As you and Battelle have pointed out in the past, brand advertisers will invest in online inventory when its quality can be defined in relevancy and increased interaction with their target audience. Go to any CSTV website during March Madness and then tell me how difficult it is to get brand advertisers to invest online.
Yup, quality is and will remain important to most advertisers! Thanks for the feedback.
It’s predicted to grow at an even faster rate in 2008.
Look out for the new juggernaut.