HOTELMARKETING.COM

Online advertising gets its groove back

November 19, 2003 |

Finally putting the dot-com devastation behind it, an older and wiser industry is enjoying a vigorous and long-awaited comeback.

The fledgling comeback in online advertising is now an official rebound. The Interactive Advertising Bureau reports that during the second quarter, revenues jumped a better-than-expected 14%, to $1.67 billion, helped by ads on search engines and more traditional marketers piling online.

However, the really promising news is that online advertising is back in a seasonal groove. “I have been reluctant in the past to claim recovery or turnaround, but now we can clearly say we’re on the rebound,” says Greg Stuart, the IAB’s president and CEO.

What’s so special about the second quarter? For the four years before online advertising took a plunge in 2001 during the dot-com crash, the sector had followed a steady annual ebb and flow. Christmas brought holiday shoppers online and was a great time to advertise, while the summer, when more people were at the beach or in their yards instead of holed up behind computers, was a lousy one. That’s why the second and fourth quarters were the most prosperous for online publishers.

Get the full story at Business Week

Visit our sponsors: