For the report, DoubleClick had augmented its own ad serving data with data from Nielsen Monitor-Plus (measuring offline media spending) and Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance (measuring online spending) in order to gain a complete picture of the relative growth of ad spending both in aggregate and by key industry segments.

DoubleClick's senior VP, GM online advertising was quoted in an official release saying, "All indicators support that 2003 was the year online advertising rebounded. The online medium outpaced certain categories of traditional media in terms of spending growth; volume is up across categories and Fortune 500 companies renewed their commitment to interactive marketing with steady investment. In terms of driving the space forward, search and rich media are the strongest contenders, and the industry is following those performance metrics closely and with great optimism."

Nielsen//NetRatings VP client analysis Charles Buchwalter added, "Last year marked the first time that large traditional advertisers began to spend more online. While the online medium is still relatively young, the growth of broadband paints a promising picture for online ads, as advertisers recognize that people are spending more time online and consuming more online media."

Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance reported that online advertising (not including search) rose to highest levels of the year with 280 billion impressions in Q4. DoubleClick data, which represents the top publishers, marketers and advertising agencies that use third party ad serving, showed high levels of growth: from Q1 to Q4, DoubleClick volume was up 49 per cent. Finally, the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) reported that ad spending grew by 20 per cent year-over-year to $7.2 billion.

According to Nielsen Monitor Plus data and IAB numbers for Q1 2003 vs. Q1 2002, online spending growth (+11.3 per cent) outpaced spot TV (+three per cent) and outdoor (+5.2 per cent), as well as network TV which declined by 12.1 per cent. Growth slowed for online by Q3 03 to +5.9 per cent over Q3 02, but still outpaced TV growth (+3.5 per cent).