A recent Nielsen study revealed that the growth of display advertising on the internet surged to an all-time high touching 32% in 2013. This growth covers global display advertising across the web, mobile internet and apps.
Internet display advertising is big. But, it is not the biggest fish in the advertising pond. Yet.
Despite its impressive growth, (which is also the fastest compared to other media platforms), the share of global online display advertising only accounts for 4.5% of overall ad spends. The growth rate of TV advertising is much lower at 4.3% but it continues to be a popular choice with most marketers as is evident by its 57.6% share of ad spends.
Web display advertising grew rapidly in 2013. But, as the Nielsen study shows, it’s just an example of high growth on a small base. The allure of video content, which is behind the continuing success of TV as an advertising medium, is drawing more companies to opt for videos to be a part of their online marketing mix.
The sheer indispensability of the Internet often makes us forget just how young the medium is. Given its age, its penetration and versatility is amazing and it has a number of advantages over its older and more traditional competitors. One can access online content across a variety of screens from PC, laptop, tablet to mobile. One can even watch TV over the Internet! Web advertising has an indisputable trump card in multi-screen advertising.
With media multi-tasking becoming a common phenomenon today, the call of multi-screen advertising is growing louder. Brands can target users on different devices by using tools like responsive websites.
Of the many drivers that are powering online display advertising growth, multi-screen advertising is significant as it allows advertisers to stay in touch with audiences even as they migrate across screens as is their habit these days.
Tools like Twitter TV ad targeting that help brands in targeting TV viewers using Promoted Tweets and events like the Google-comScore deal that will help measure different ad formats across the web in real-time makes Internet advertising more appealing to marketers. Each of these events is likely to strengthen the case for internet advertising and drive greater spends.
Multi-screen advertising specifically can become a huge area of investment in the near future because it leverages the Internet’s versatility.
Despite its obvious promise, internet advertising is still in a very nascent stage. It does have formidable competition in TV but that hasn’t stopped it from growing significantly. Digital marketers who are running online display ads are gaining valuable learning (and business) from tapping into this near ubiquitous, extremely versatile medium.
Over the last few years, we’ve witnessed the galloping influence of the Internet and it doesn’t show any signs of letting up. If anything, it’s increasing! We’re betting on it as the medium to market through and advertise on.
What are you betting on? TV or the Internet?
Image Source: 401(K) 2012
