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MUMBAI: A number cruncher might claim not be too impressed but
Internet advertising looks to be on the up and up. For those who
can deliver quality that is.
First some numbers. Internet ad revenue in the United States was
$5.95 billion in 2002, a 17 per cent decrease from 2001, according
to trade group Interactive Advertising Bureau. Also, Net ad revenue
was $1.5 billion for fourth-quarter 2002, down 9.8 per cent from
fourth-quarter 2001, the IAB has said in a report released with
PricewaterhouseCoopers.
There is an upside though. Ad revenue rose 2.3 per cent in the
fourth quarter from the third, the IAB reported. "Those who monitor
the industry know that a few predominant factors contributed to
the [year-over-year] revenue decline, including the conclusion of
some long-term advertising deals. What's important to recognize
is that the majority of online publishers are profitable, and their
revenues continue to rise year-over-year," Greg Stuart, IAB president/CEO,
was quoted as saying in a statement.
“The improved performance over the past two quarters reflects a
stabilizing online advertising market, highlighted by continued
strength in paid-for-search results. The recent upturn, coupled
with forecasts of continued expansion of broadband distribution,
bodes well for a strong year in 2003” said Tom Hyland, Chair, PricewaterhouseCoopers
New Media Group.
The report is based on data from the top 15 online ad sellers,
which account for 80 percent of online ad sales, the IAB said.
Coming to the quality issue, forbes.com is a case in point. Last
September, forbes.com introduced a "brand increase guarantee" scheme
wherein it announced it wouldn't charge advertisers for placements
that prove completely ineffective.
The offer was only made available to advertisers willing to spend
$100,000 (enough for a measurable quantity of impressions) and run
campaigns for two months before the tests were conducted to determine
whether the advertising has worked. The guarantee was that the advertising
would boost at least one of four brand metrics: awareness, message
association, purchasing intent and brand favorability, as measured
by Dynamic Logic.
Blue chip marketers like AT&T, Samsung, Acura, LG and BearingPoint
were among those that bought into the idea and forbes.com says none
of them have come away disappointed.
The aggregated results of the program show a lift in each of the
four brand metrics measured as follows:
Message Association: +28%
Purchase Consideration: +14%
Aided Awareness: +11%
Brand Favorability: + 6%
For
more on forbes.com's Brand increase guarantee click here
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