Online Ad Revenues On the Rise

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers released their latest Internet advertising numbers for the third quarter. According to the organizations, Internet advertising revenues reached nearly $5.5 billion for the quarter. That is an increase of 1.7% from the second quarter.

The numbers are still significantly down from the same period last year, but any increase is a good sign of things to come. There has been a 5.4% decline from last year.

"The Internet has transformed the consumer experience of media, providing marketers with unprecedented opportunities to engage with their customers," said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB. "The advertising sector overall has been hard hit by the economy, but digital media has been a bright spot within the larger economic downturn as it is capturing an ever-increasing piece of marketers’ advertising spend."

"While all segments of the media industry have experienced declines, online advertising remains resilient and is once again showing signs of growth," said David Silverman, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

The information from the IAB/PWC is considered the most accurate measurement of interactive ad revenue, the IAB says, because its compiled directly from info supplied by companies selling advertising on the web. The IAB releases a full report twice a year to reflect half-year periods. It will be interesting to see how the second half of the year plays out in its entirety.

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IAB Releases Ad Unit Guidelines Update

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) released the 2009 update to its ad unit guidelines today. For the first time, the IAB is bringing in creative agencies for input on ad unit recommendations. Historically, these have only come from media agencies and publishers.

"By bringing agencies into the process of developing standard ad units, we have taken a step towards improving the creative output and branding potential for interactive media," says Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB. "Our next order of business is to drive towards adoption of revised standards that we believe will spur increased investment in interactive advertising—we’ve already proven that there is no medium more accountable—now we have to bring all of its capabilities together to tell great stories to consumers—that’s what advertising is all about."

"Being a part of this process gave voice to the creative challenges that agencies faced with the existing standards, ad units, and technologies, and I believe we’ve found a solid way forward in overcoming those challenges," said Jim Russell, Partner, EVP, Director of Digital Strategy, McKinney. "Our goal was to simplify the existing list and I think we’ve developed a long-term strategy for doing this on behalf of the industry."

The working group created by the combination of creative agencies, media agencies, and publishers is called the Reimagining Interactive Advertising Task Force. The group has updated the criteria for standard ad units. It did so by looking at industry-wide impression count reports, ad unit availability, agency-side effectiveness reviews, and creative preferences. Two recommendations they made are:

- In order to be considered a standard, an ad unit must be commonly bought and offered throughout the marketplace; only seven of the eighteen ad units currently on the list meet the new criteria.

- Ad units will not be removed from the standard list in 2009, but must meet the criteria by the end of 2010

The whole IAB Ad Unit Guidelines update can be found here. Next year, the Task Force will release the first list of ad units.

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Online Ad Revenue Tops $10 Billion

Internet advertising revenues reached $10.9 billion in the first half of 2009, a 5 percent decline from the same time in 2008, according to a new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Search and display advertising continue to account for the largest percentages of overall advertising spend.  Search revenues amounted to more than $5.1 billion for the first six months of 2009, up three percent from the same period in 2008.

"While the overall advertising market has continued to be impacted by current economic conditions, marketers are allocating more of their dollars to digital media for its accountability and because consumers are spending more of their leisure time online," said David Silverman, PwC Assurance partner.

Display-related advertising which includes rich media, digital video and sponsorship totaled nearly $3.8 billion in the first six months of 2009 showing a slight decline from the same time in 2008. Digital video continues to see solid growth with a 38 percent increase from the first half of 2008.

"We are in one of the most difficult economic slumps in decades. Interactive is one of the advertising sectors that has been least affected," said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB.

"In recent years the digital revolution has driven a transformation of how consumers experience advertising and media. As the economy improves, we're confident that brands will devote an even greater share of their budgets to reaching consumers as they make interactive media a larger part of their lives."
 

Yahoo Launches New Ad Unit with Charity Contest

Yahoo is launching a new Yahoo Mail ad unit called "Tandem," to be reserved for "the most creative" non-profit campaign. The company has partnered with the Ad Council to launch the initiative, which it refers to as "Create for a Cause."

  Features of the ad unit include synched animation, floating rich media, and streaming video. Yahoo says the objective of the contest is to determine which campaign most creatively and effectively uses the Tandem capabilities.

It's a contest in which advertising agencies can submit their non-profit digital campaigns for a chance to appear in 74 million impressions on Yahoo. In addition, the winner can be among the first to try Yahoo's new custom ad unit integration on Yahoo! Mail, and reach 32 million daily users.

"Agencies are doing an unbelievable job of building smart campaigns for good causes and helping non-profits break into digital in meaningful ways," said Beth Lawrence, vice president of agency development at Yahoo!. "This contest with the Ad Council provides a fun and creative way for agencies to showcase their creative genius, get some recognition for their favorite non-profits and drum up interest and visibility for an important cause. We are thrilled to be a part of this contest and part of the digital revolution for every kind of campaign."

Any advertiser that currently has a digital campaign with the Ad Council is eligible to apply, but advertisers are also encouraged to create new campaigns. The winning entry will be announced November 4th and run on November 18th. The deadline for submission is October 23rd. Submissions can be made at advertising.yahoo.com/createforacause.

Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB, Nancy Hill, President and CEO of AAAA, Allison Arden, Publisher of Advertising Age and Creativity Magazine, Peggy Conlin, President/CEO of the Ad Council and others make up the committee that will judge the campaigns.

Yahoo wins from the contest by getting to show off its new ad unit to a lot of people, but the best part is that no matter who officially wins the contest, the ad will (presumably) be aimed at a good cause and create massive exposure for it.