Internet ad sales set record 9.6 billion dollars in 2004

WASHINGTON - Internet advertising sales set a record last year of 9.6 billion dollars, an industry survey showed Thursday.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers said the figure was up 33 percent from 2003 and exceeded the previous record, set in 2000, by almost 20 percent.
"Interactive advertising has clearly become a mainstream medium and one that can no longer be ignored as a critical piece of any marketing mix," said Greg Stuart, president and chief executive of the IAB, said in a statement.
"Interactive is firing on all cylinders and is squarely on track to surpass consumer magazine revenues."
Consumer advertisers accounted for 49 percent of last year's interactive ad spending, with the strongest categories being retail, automotive, leisure, entertainment and packaged goods. Computing contributed 18 percent, financial services 17 percent, telecommunications four percent and health care six percent.
Revenues in the fourth quarter of 2004 totaled 2.69 billion dollars, marking the highest quarter ever reported.
"The revenue results reported for 2004 confirm a very healthy environment for online advertising, for both direct marketers seeking immediate performance results, as well as brand advertisers looking to create or enhance an image, product or service, said Pete Petrusky at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
"Moreover, the Internet is the only medium to adopt a global standard for impression measurement, intended to simplify the buying and selling process for online advertising."

04/28/2005 18:06 GMT