NEW YORK (Aug. 14, 2008)—eMarketer has revised its Internet ad spend projections, estimating that advertisers will spend $24.9 billion online this year in the US. That estimate is slightly lower than the one eMarketer put out in March 2008, which said that US online advertising spending would reach $25.9 billion in 2008. But it is important to note that the lowered estimate still represents an increase of 17.4% over 2007 spending.

“Even as the potent mix of a misfiring economy and consumers’ changing media habits shave advertising dollars from traditional venues such as newspapers and television, Internet ad spending will continue to grow rapidly,” says David Hallerman, senior analyst at eMarketer. “The fact that online ad spending is not immune to economic downturns, and yet will grow more than any other major medium, might be the clearest signal yet of how mainstream the Internet truly is.”

After a double-digit increase in 2008, spending growth in 2009 will drop to about 14.5%. By 2011, an anticipated boom in online video advertising, combined with an increase of the average US online video advertising spending per online video viewer and a recovered economy, will mean spending growth greater than 20% for the first time since 2007.

eMarketer benchmarks its US online ad spending projections against the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)/PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) data.

To speak to Mr. Hallerman about his analysis of the online market, reach out to the eMarketer media contacts listed below.

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