Internet Advertising revenues grow 35%.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) released the Internet Advertising Revenue Report which shows record results for the full year and final quarter of 2006. Internet advertising revenues in the U.S. continued upward totaling $16.9 billion in 2006, a new annual record exceeding 2005 by 35%. Q4 2006 internet advertising revenues totaled $4.8 billion, representing record revenues for a single quarter and a 35% increase over same period in 2005.

“Interactive advertising revenues continue to show solid growth as advertisers and agencies recognize that it is a medium that can uniquely affect consumer behavior from product awareness, to purchase intent, to actual purchase and then brand loyalty,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB. “We have every confidence that this growth trend will continue as marketers allocate more of their total marketing dollars to interactive and the industry delivers effective and innovative platforms for connecting with consumers.”

The report states that search, display, classifieds and lead generation all continue to grow at a healthy rate with an increase in both performance-based and CPM or impression-based pricing. Consumer advertisers continue to represent the largest category of internet advertising spending.

“The continuing strong growth of interactive advertising as evidenced by the full year 2006 survey results proves the importance of this medium to all types of marketers,” says David Silverman, partner, Assurance, PricewaterhouseCoopers. “The ability for these marketers to achieve both performance-based and branding objectives with interactive advertising is the foundation for this exceptional growth.”

“The results for 2006 show the internet continues to offer marketers the widest spectrum of advertising formats, from search-based text ads to dynamic rich-media and broadband video ads,” notes Peter Petrusky, director, Advisory, PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Online publishers may continue to experience growth as marketing budget allocations to all interactive forms continue to increase.”

To view chart CLICK above on ‘More Images’.

To view full report CLICK on link below (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):
< http://www.iab.net/resources/adrevenue/pdf/IAB_PwC_2006_Final.pdf>