IAB: 2011's record-breaking Internet ad revenues, mobile makes its mark

In 2010, Internet ad revenues broke all records totaling $26 billion. New figures released by the IAB for last year show that the record has been broken again. Revenues for the full year soared to a new high of $31 billion.

Furthermore, the fourth quarter of 2011 broke all records with a total $9 billion, a 15% increase over the previous quarter and a YoY growth of 20% from 2010's $7.4 billion.

"Pushing past the $30 billion barrier, the interactive advertising industry confirms its central place in media," said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. "Across search, display, digital video, digital provides a wealth of opportunity for brands and consumers. With the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, it is likely that the tremendous growth in mobile will continue as these screens become even more crucial to the marketing mix."

The 2011 report is the first in which mobile is listed as a standalone category, and for good reason. Growth in mobile advertising was fastest of all IAB's categories, up 149% to $1.6 billion in 2011. It now accounts for 5% of all Internet ad revenue, more than email (1%), sponsorship (4%) and rich media (4%). Search, at 46.5%, is the largest category.

"The year 2011 saw mobile advertising become a meaningful category," said David Silverman, Partner, PwC U.S. "By combining some of the best features of the Internet, along with portability and location-based technology, mobile advertising is enabling marketers to deliver timely, targeted, relevant, and local advertisements in a manner that was not previously possible. It is for these reasons that we expect strong growth to continue with mobile advertising."

Tags: advertising revenues, Internet advertising, mobile advertising, mobile marketing, mobile use, research