Forecast: Look for online advertising to jump

Although the big four advertising categories - automotive, travel, finance and telecom - have all decreased their overall advertising spends, a recent forecast from Bernstein Research indicates that online advertising is about to hit an uptick. The report finds several signs pointing to a resurgence for online advertising throughout the remainder of 2008.

by Kristina Knight

In the US, online advertising spending is now expected to increase by 20% while online ad spending throughout the rest of the world is expected to grow at a 22% rate.

All categories will not see an increase but the financial sector, surprisingly, is expected to show a strong rebound because non-mortgage advertising has seen increases throughout the year thus far. The finance sector, which also includes insurance and real estate advertising, accounts for nearly 30% of the total online spend.

Although the US is facing a slight recession, most analysts expect the recession to be short; however a larger economic slowdown is being predicted for the rest of the world. If the recession for both the US and the world turns out to be even shorter than expected, marketers can be expected to spend upwards of 23% more for the rest of this year and an increase of about 20% for 2009.