Well it’s finally happened and it’s only taken 10 years. Today, figures have shown that advertising on the Internet has finally overtaken TV to become the largest form of advertising in the UK.
Online spending grew by 4.6% to £1.752bn in the first half of this year, while spending on TV shrank 16.1% to £1.639bn.
The study by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers also says that overall advertising fell 16% compared with the same period in 2008.
The report states that as the recession has grown it has accelerated the migration of advertising spending to digital technology from the more traditional media such as press, radio and television.
However, Thinkbox, the marketing body for the main UK commercial television broadcasters, said the figures did not comparelike with like.
“Online marketing spend is made up of many things including e-mail, classified ads, display ads and, overwhelmingly, search marketing. They should be judged individually,” said Lindsey Clay, Thinkbox’s marketing director.
Despite this it’s a huge gain for the importance of the Internet as an advertising medium and with Google’s dominance of the browser market makes them the largest advertising company in the UK currently.
We shall see how things develop, but it goes to show how now more than ever, having a strong online presence is essential for every business.
