As other spending slows, digital surges

During their most recent conference calls, many broadcast and cable TV networks noted a slowdown in ad sales that started in second quarter and continued in third.

And third-quarter figures for radio showed advertising was down 2 percent.

But one medium is avoiding that downward trend: Digital.

During third quarter, online ad spending set yet another record, hitting $12.4 billion, according to data released Thursday by the Interactive Advertising Bureau. It marks the biggest quarter ever for online advertising.

That was up 17 percent over the same period last year, when advertisers spent $10.6 billion.

And it was up 6.5 percent over the previous quarter this year, which tallied $11.7 billion. Second quarter spending was up 13 percent year over year.

It’s hardly surprising to see digital spending rise. After all, it’s been on a steady climb since the media economy took a hit in 2009.

But what’s interesting is that online did not see the spending declines other media did during third quarter.

That could mean a number of things, but one possibility is an increased movement from traditional to new media. If web advertising is rising while other media are decreasing, that indicates the former is pulling dollars away from the latter.

Certainly mobile is attracting more and more interest.

While the IAB does not break down spending according to format for third-quarter numbers, during second quarter mobile saw huge gains and it’s expected to do so throughout the year.

Advertisers who may have previously invested in TV or radio are clearly trying out new things like mobile, social media and online video.

In fact, earlier this fall an executive with Omnicom said the agency is advising its clients to move up to 25 percent of their TV dollars to the web, noting there’s synergy between online and offline video viewing.

Tags: 2014 ad spending, digital advertising, digital dollars, iab, internet advertising, online ad spending, online advertising, spending