Canadian Internet ad revenue exceeds print, grows to $2.2 billion
by Andrew Moran (Guest Contributor/Digital Journalist)
New figures released Wednesday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB) show that Canadian Online Advertising Revenues for 2010 grew by 23 percent to $2.23 billion. These numbers exceed print advertising and are a close second to TV ads. Daily newspaper advertising reached $2.1 billion in 2010.
Nearly every website you go to, there is an advertisement for a company, product or government. If you watch a video on YouTube, you are prompted to watch an ad for Rogers. If you watch a movie trailer, you are forced to watch a preceding 30-second film trailer. You cannot escape it.
New numbers suggest that this trend will continue due to the amount of revenue generated by the presence of online advertising over print.
According to the IAB, Canadian Online Advertising Revenues for 2010 [PDF] grew by 23 percent to $2.23 billion, which was more than expected – budgeted projections were $2.1 billion. These figures have now officially surpassed newspapers and are a very close second to television.
IAB publishers are projecting higher revenue growth in 2011. Online Advertising Revenue in Canada is estimated to be approximately $2.6 billion this year, or 16 percent more than 2010’s numbers.
“Surpassing the $2 billion dollar mark for Online ad revenues and moving into second place in terms of overall ad spend in Canada — is without a doubt — a watershed moment for the Digital community in Canada,” said IAB Canada President, Paula Gignac, in a press release.
“It’s incredibly fulfilling to see that the years of diligent and determined work by Publishers in developing ever-evolving and engaging content offerings for consumers, while simultaneously demonstrating the unique benefits of marketing within the medium to Advertisers, have culminated in this new level of success.”
Gignac added that last year’s mobile advertising revenue numbers are going to be released in the next few weeks.
The statistics also include advertising categories, which had automotive (12 percent), packaged goods (11 percent) and financial (11 percent) in the top three. Retail (9 percent), leisure (6 percent), technology (5 percent), telecommunications (4 percent), entertainment (4 percent), media (4 percent) and pharmaceuticals (3 percent) rounded out the list. The “other” category garnered 31 percent.
Agence-France Presse noted that the Internet in Canada accounts for nearly 16 percent of all media ad revenue, which is higher than France (15.6 percent) and the United States (15.4 percent), but lower in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia (28.7 percent).
This article originally appeared on DigitalJournal.com