by Corinne
21. November 2008 10:00
According to Ofcom, online now accounts for 19 percent of advertising spend in the UK, a bigger share than in any other country in the world.
However, some industry analysts are now suggesting that growth in online advertising is likely to slow as the recession bites.
An IAB report shows that from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008, the industry saw its first quarter-to-quarter revenue drop since the second quarter of 2004.
Randall Rothenberg, chief executive of the IAB, said: ‘The growth of interactive advertising that we've been experiencing over the past few years has stabilized due in large part to the difficult current economic climate.’
It should be noted, though, that despite the recession, online ad spend is still growing, if at a slower pace.
PwC partner David Silverman argued that the internet ad market will stay strong, partly because internet ads are more 'measurable' than other forms of media.
He said: ‘The Internet should be better poised to withstand the storm given its ability to combine performance-based advertising along with broad-based branding.’