Unique Online Ads Rise.

Nielsen//NetRatings unveiled data that shows early evidence of an online advertising recovery as the number of unique online ads rose during the beginning of 2002. According to data from the Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance service, the number of unique ads jumped 33 percent from January to April of this year, reaching a new high of nearly 70,000 unique ads online during last month.

“The burst of online ads over the last three months indicates that the online ad market is finding some new traction,” said Charles Buchwalter, vice president of media research, NetRatings. “From the previous peak in March of 2001, the number of unique ads on the Web declined through the rest of 2001 to reach a low in January of this year. The downward trend during the past year has been reversed in just three short months.”

Traditional Advertisers Lead the Growth in Unique Ads

Large traditional advertisers fueled the growth in unique online ads in early 2002. Blue chip, established advertisers made up the top 10 growth leaders in the number of unique online ads created. Columbia House took the No.1 spot, with 330 unique ads in April 2002, jumping 89 percent since the beginning of the year. Nestle USA, claimed the No.2 spot with 214 unique ads last month, rising 67 percent, while the United States Federal Government, increased their ad creation by 60 percent to 370 ads. Rounding out the top five, USA Networks posted 538 unique ads in April, growing 60 percent, while Microsoft rose 55 percent to 348 unique ads.

“Two years after the dot.com bubble burst in mid-2000, blue-chip companies’ adoption of the online medium appears to be accelerating,” added Buchwalter. “Over the next 12 months, the significance of this development will be underscored if these increases in unique ads translate into sustained increases in online ad expenditures.”

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