US internet advertising spending increased to a record $6.4 billion in Q3, showing the market has returned to growth following the financial crash and recession.
The sector has been growing for most of 2010 after a heavy contraction last year, the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) jointly revealed yesterday.
The market grew 17% year-on-year in the third quarter, with ad spend significantly higher than the quarterly peaks from 2008.
“Advertisers are shifting more of their brand messaging online, accounting for this welcome surge in a difficult economy,” PwC partner David Silverman said.
After earning revenues of $23.4 billion in 2008, spending slumped to $22.6 billion in 2009, with the worst declines felt in the middle of the year.
Research from ComScore published earlier this month backs up the IAB's findings. Total display ad impressions increased 22% to nearly 1.3 trillion during Q3, the company estimated.
“Just one year ago we were still in the midst of an advertising recession, but several growth drivers have contributed to sustained improvements over the past few quarters,” ComScore senior vice president Jeff Hackett said. Factors include the emergence of location-based and targeted advertising.
The US performance is a good portend for the global online ad industry, which Morgan Stanley analyst Mary Meeker this week predicted will balloon to $50 billion in the near future.
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