US online advertising revenue dropped 12% in 2001, compared with
the previous year, but still managed to outpace revenue derived
from more traditional offline media, according to a report released
by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Revenue from online advertising brought in $7.2bn (£4.5bn) last
year and, although it marked a decline from the previous year's
numbers, the market fared well considering advertising's
across-the-board drop because of tough economic conditions.
Moreover, the 12% decline was in comparison to the ad boom year of
2000, the researcher noted.
Traditional media such as TV and radio fared worse, PwC said,
experiencing a 13.8% and 20% decline in ad revenue
respectively.
Internet ad revenue for the fourth quarter of 2001 slid 7.5%
compared with the same period the previous year, totalling $1.7bn
(£1.2bn). However, the researcher expressed optimism that the
online ad market will rebound, citing the growing base of Internet
users, attractive demographics and higher online
accountability.
Additionally, more large advertisers are beginning to recognise the
value of Internet advertising for increasing brand awareness, the
New York researcher said.
Banner ads, sponsorships and classifieds still lead online
advertising sales, according to PwC, with classifieds benefitting
from the weak job market.
Consumer advertising was the strongest category of online ad sales,
however, representing 30% of revenues in 2001.
Consumer ads were followed by the computing and financial services
categories, the researcher said, which brought 18% and 12% of
revenues respectively.