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Internet Advertising Revenues in Q3 ‘08 at Nearly $5.9 Billion - MarketWatch
PRESS RELEASE
Internet Advertising Revenues in Q3 ‘08 at Nearly $5.9 Billion
11% Increase from Q3 ‘07, Up Slightly from Q2 ‘08 Despite U.S. Economic Woes

Last update: 12:11 p.m. EST Nov. 20, 2008
NEW YORK, Nov 20, 2008 BUSINESS WIRE — The Interactive Advertising Bureau IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP PwC today announced that Internet advertising revenues reached almost $5.9 billion for the third quarter of 2008, representing an 11 percent increase over the same period in 2007. While double-digit annual growth continues, the quarter-to-quarter curve remains relatively flat compared to recent past performance. The Q3 2008 figures, published in the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report, are 2 percent higher than the Q2 2008 results. Set against strong economic headwinds in the U.S. economy, Q3 ’08’s $5.9 billion represents nonetheless the second-highest quarter results ever. For the first nine months of 2008, revenues totaled $17.3 billion, up from $15.2 billion in the same period a year ago and surpassing the record set in the first nine months of 2007 by nearly 14 percent.
“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,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB. “Interactive advertising continues to be the most measurable and cost-effective way to reach consumers, and we see more and more marketers seeking to harness its power.”
David Silverman, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, added that, “a weakening economy will continue to be a challenge to all forms of advertising-supported media. However, the Internet should be better poised to withstand the storm given its ability to combine performance-based advertising along with broad-based branding.”
Conducted by the New Media Group of PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Internet Advertising Revenue Report was launched in 1996 by the IAB and aggregates data from all companies that report meaningful online advertising revenues. The results are considered the most accurate measurement of interactive advertising revenues as the data are compiled directly from information supplied by companies selling advertising on the Internet. The survey includes data concerning online advertising revenues from Web sites, commercial online services, ad networks, free e-mail providers, and other companies selling online advertising. First- and third-quarter revenue reports are estimates, with actual figures released with the second- and fourth-quarter data respectively. PwC does not audit the information and provides no opinion or other form of assurance with respect to the information.
About PricewaterhouseCoopers:
PricewaterhouseCoopers www.pwc.com provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for its clients and their stakeholders. More than 155,000 people in 153 countries across our network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice.
“PricewaterhouseCoopers” refers to the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.
About the IAB:
The Interactive Advertising Bureau IAB is comprised of more than 375 leading media and technology companies who are responsible for selling 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB educates marketers, agencies, media companies and the wider business community about the value of interactive advertising. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising. Founded in 1996, the IAB is headquartered in New York City with a Public Policy office in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit www.iab.net.
SOURCE: The Interactive Advertising Bureau

The Interactive Advertising Bureau
Marla Aaron, 212-380-4714
Marketing Communications Director
marla@iab.net

Copyright Business Wire 2008 End of Story

Marketing on the Web, Marketing Via the Internet Article - Inc. Article
How-To Guides

Marketing on the Web

Marketing on the Web is an old game with new rules. It’s a world of alliances, banner ads, e-mail marketing, and search engine techniques. If you’re a savvy online marketer, you understand and incorporate these new tactics as you develop a marketing strategy to reach your target audience. Otherwise, your site will struggle in cyberspace.

With content that ranges from how-to advice to entrepreneurial case studies, this guide will help you forge alliances, implement e-mail marketing and discover traffic-building strategies that work. The end result: a stronger online marketing campaign.

Inc. has several other excellent marketing guides as well.

Fascinating article about how our society is adapting to the Internet…

How Digital Technology Has Changed the Brain - BusinessWeek
“By their 20s, young people will have spent more than 30,000 hours on the Internet and playing video games. That’s not such a bad thing”

Do you need to quickly cut costs in order to adapt to the changing business climate? Businesses need to be flexible and responsive in order to weather this economic storm. Here are 5 ways to stay afloat during lean times.

5. Revise your Budget

It may sound elementary, but many people forget the basic principles of budgeting after following habitual spending patterns for so long. It’s time to trim the fat, your challenge is to know what is fat and what is lean. Make sure you are focusing on opportunities to reduce the cost of providing overhead services by trimming nonessential spending, restructuring costs and standardizing service levels.

4. Don’t forget your business plan

A well written plan will have anticipated this happening, and prepared for it. Now is the time to follow the plan, or revise it accordingly.

3. INCREASE your spending on marketing.

Right now, as the online ad industry is collapsing, it becomes evident that many people are cutting back in their advertising spending. However, now is the time to ramp up your marketing dollars because you’ll have to work harder than ever to get sales. The smart money is marketing more, so that when this season is over, they will be well ahead of the game.

2. Keep prices low, increase your level of service.

Don’t raise your prices, but don’t lower them either. Instead, give your customers more value! This is equivalent of lowering prices, but it doesn’t affect revenue. And since you’ve already followed the first three items on this list, you’re already a leaner, meaner and greener ($$) machine! The same revenue is actually an increase in profits because your costs are lower.

1. Outsource your web marketing department.

I’m not talking about India either. If you are a small business with a small marketing department, you might be able to save money by laying off 90% of your marketing personnel,  and then hiring an outside, local firm to pick up the slack.

Why pay 5 people, (a web designer, a graphic artist, an SEO/SEM expert, a copywriter, and a creative director) a combined $400,000 in wages and benfits per year, when you could instead pay a strategic branding and web design firm $90,000 to produce higher quality work in the same time period. You could save over $250,000 a year and at the same time ramp up your company image with cutting edge designers. The best part? You don’t have to pay their benefits, sick days, or vacation times, and you don’t have to motivate them to keep working!

Here is an interesting article listing Twittering for Business ideas in several areas such as:

First Steps, Ideas About WHAT to Tweet, Some Sanity For You, The Negatives People Will Throw At You, Some Positives to Throw Back

50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business | chrisbrogan.com