GroupM: Interactive media spend to reach 15%

According to a recent report from WPP’s Group M, interactive media will account for about 15% of the worldwide advertising spend by 2009. This is a nearly 50% increase over 2004. Interactive advertising is expected to remain the biggest source of ad revenue growth for the foreseeable future because marketers are turning away from traditional media in favor of the digital realm.

by Kristina Knight

Interactive media includes Internet advertising, mobile marketing and gaming advertising. In 2007, interactive media accounted for 11% of the global ad spend, primarily being used by marketers in the US and Western Europe.

Rob Norman, global CEO of GroupM Interaction said, “There is little doubt that interactive channels are increasingly vital to delivering reach and engagement and will only become more so in the coming years.”

Though interactive ads have primarily been (45%) display ads, paid search is rapidly growing and currently accounts for roughly 38% of the ad spend. Another interesting finding is that the more prevalent broadband is in a country, the more online advertising marketers do. And one more finding, consumers are also spending more time online. In 2005, consumers spent about 30 minutes each day with the Internet; by 2009, that number is expected to be 46 minutes per user per day.