Online ad spending forecasts from GroupM put digital spending at 17% of total US ad spending in 2010, up from 15.4% this year and 13.9% in 2008.
The “Interaction 2009” report predicts 4% growth in US online ad spending in 2009, to $22.77 billion. Growth will ramp up to 7% next year. Worldwide, online spending is expected to climb 9% in 2009, returning to double-digit growth in 2010.
The rise in worldwide spending to $58.17 billion this year will mean online takes 13.2% of total ad dollars. GroupM predicts that share will increase to 14.6% in 2010.
According to the report, spending increases on search and mobile, along with the declining spending in traditional media, are fueling the gains online. GroupM found Internet spending outperformed all other media channels during the recession. Video, which the research firm said was succeeding social media as “the new digital darling,” is also a driving force behind online spending in the US.
“Search is a critical component of paid media, but a tipping point has been reached,” said Rob Norman, CEO of GroupM Interaction. “For several years the focus has been almost entirely on the rapid rise of Google and the implications of an auction-based marketplace for the advertising industry. But now a shift is under way to reclaim the world of ‘intention marketing’ from paid search to allocate investment, and return, more comprehensively across multiple disciplines.”
Mr. Norman said a combination of paid and organic search, along with mobile and social media marketing, would “fulfill the original promise of search.”
Keep up on the latest digital trends. Learn more about an eMarketer Total Access subscription, today.
Check out today’s other article, “Ad Dollars Flood to Social Nets.”