This year for the first time ever, online advertising expenditure has surpassed TV advertising.  New research conducted by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has revealed spending on Internet-based advertising increased by 4.6% during the first half of 2009 to reach a total of £1.752bn.  In comparison TV advertising expenditure stood at £1.6bn down from £1.9bn year-on-year.  This growth in online advertising has occurred despite an overall decrease in the advertising sector of 16.6% during the first half of this year.

Technology companies accounted for the highest percentage of spend accounting for 19% of the overall market.  Followed by telecoms, finance and entertainment/media.  Internet advertising has beaten all predicted expectations to achieve growth in the most challenging of economic conditions.

PwC online advertising expert Eva Berg-Winters added: “Perhaps surprisingly, a slowing economy has accelerated the migration to digital technology and hence the continuing shift from more traditional forms of advertising to online, which promises return on investment and measurability in a period of instability. The only certainty is that this transgression demands fundamental structural change of business models across all industries.”

The IAB and PwC also noted the particular proliferation of online video which has helped the Internet to grow its advertising revenues.  Indicating advertiser’s willingness to engage with multimedia content.