Online ad spend set to grow in 2010

Mon Nov 16 2009, 08:41 AM

Online ad spend in Europe is set to grow by 7.6% year-on-year in 2010, with 94% of marketers saying they plan to increase the amount they spend online, according to an EIAA survey. Growth will be even more rapid in 2011, with budgets forecast to rise 15% year-on-year as marketers take advantage of cost efficiencies and the opportunity for effective online targeting.

Email advertising continues to rise in popularity. Some 61% of those surveyed used this form of advertising in the second half of 2009, compared with 46% in the first half. Around 33% of marketers say they now use behavioural targeting and 31% use ad networks.

The report also found that mobile advertising is on the up, with 33% of the companies questioned already incorporating mobile into their strategy. Almost a fifth think the use of mobile advertising is increasing, while 86% believe spend is growing. Almost all predict growth in the market during 2010 and 2011.

Online ad spend has experienced huge growth in the last few years and, though it has slowed down slightly in the recession, the sector continues to outperform the wider ad market. Global ad spend is expected to shrink by nearly 10% this year, with recovery not expected until 2011, according to media agency Carat. But the digital market is already bottoming out, with growth expected to return by Q2 2010 at the latest, according to IDC.