Last year, US online ad spending faced the first decrease since 2002. But, industry experts predict that these numbers will rebound in 2o10, as the economy becomes more stable.

Despite the decrease in online advertising spending in the US in 2009, online advertising still continued to grow as a percent of total ad spending. This trend is predicted to continue into the foreseeable future.

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In his article Online Ads Not Working for You? Blame the Creative, Kunur Patel discusses a study that finds that ad placement may be less important than design when it comes to making the big impact that advertisers want. We agree completely.

CPX has been developing conversion-oriented creatives for clients for years. We regularly find that creatives we develop for advertisers have significantly higher click-thru and conversion rates than creatives they have run in the past. While online delivery is focused on numbers, metrics and technology, it is important to remember that there are still underlying principles of advertising that apply.

Among Patel’s suggestions: Highlight the brand throughout the ad, Make each second count, and Stay simple.

Read more here.

The effects of the recession have been felt in every industry, including online advertising.  But, eMarketer predicts a light at the end of the tunnel, forecasting a gradual rise in US online advertising spending beginning next year.

A recent comScore study found that the number of people who click on display ads has fallen to 16%. These findings have created quite a buzz around the online advertising industry, including calls for online marketers to find a better measure of success than click-through rates.

The release of this study is no surprise to CPX Interactive.  In fact, our most recent ad campaign (which can be seen on the pages of OMMA, AdAge and Media magazines (and below)) highlights our belief that every client may have a unique  success metric.  While the most commonly thought of metrics may be CPM and CPC, the truth is that, depending on the campaign, an advertiser may choose to judge success by less measureable metrics like user engagement and brand exposure. It is, therefore, no coincidence that the “x” in CPX represents a dynamic variable. As far as we’re concerned, your metric is the ONLY X!

Samantha Karol, Sr. Marketing Assistant

In July, we wrote a post about the benefits of behavioral targeting, despite the negative connotations of the word “tracking.” That post was sparked by an article published by AdAge called, “Tracking Makes Life Easier for Consumers.” Although the advertising industry recognizes the need for regulation of Web tracking, they believe self-regulation would be better than legislation.

Major industry groups, including the Interactive Advertising Bureau, American Association of Advertising Agencies, Association of National Advertisers, Direct Marketing Association and Council of Better Business Bureaus, are putting their heads together to determine the best method for improving self-regulation.  However, there are a number of privacy and consumer advocacy groups who are in favor of legislation, and they have already come together to write a proposal.

For more information on both sides of this issue, and the growing pressure for some sort of regulation on Web tracking, check out this article published this week by AdWeek.

According to this survey, ads on mail and instant messaging sites are catching the attention of Internet users, and keeping it the longest. On the other end of the spectrum, ads on social networks and homepages are holding people’s attention for less than half a minute.

A study of online display ad campaigns found that smaller ads, “half banners” (234 x 60) and rectangles (180 x 150), were more effective than larger ads like leaderboards and skyscrapers. Close to 2,400 campaigns from the past three years were included in the study, which was conducted by researcher Dynamic Logic. Read more about the findings on MediaPost.

People from around the world have greater trust in online advertising now than in the past. Although, there is still room to grow, the worldwide attitude towards online advertising has improved.

For more, read What Advertising Do Consumers Trust? from eMarketer.

Samantha Karol
Marketing Assistant, CPX Interactive

The Internet is bringing Wall Street to Madison Avenue, as advertisers are discovering the benefits of real-time data that can only be gathered from online campaigns. As the New York Times reported recently, major media companies and advertising agencies are adopting data-based strategies for their campaigns, many with the help of ad exchanges.

CPX Interactive was an early adopter of the exchange model, as one of the first and largest players in the Right Media Exchange. In fact, we still represent approximately 30% of the exchange’s inventory. To learn more about CPX’s relationship with exchanges, read CEO Mike Seiman’s interview with AdExchanger.com.

1. Retail advertisers continue to represent the largest category of Internet ad spending, accounting for 22 percent of revenues for the full year of 2008 or $5.0 billion, down from the 25 percent ($5.4 billion) reported in 2007.
2. Financial Services advertisers represented the second-largest category of spending at 13 percent of 2008 full year revenues or $3.0 billion, down from the 15 percent ($3.2 billion) reported in 2007.
3. Automotive advertisers accounted for the third-largest category of spending at 12 percent of 2008 full year revenues or $2.8 billion, up slightly from the 12 percent ($2.5 billion) reported in 2007.
4. Computing advertisers represented the fourth-largest category of spending at 12 percent of 2008 full year revenues or $2.7 billion, up slightly from the 11 percent reported ($2.3 billion) for the full year of 2007.
5. Telecom companies accounted for 9 percent of 2008 full year revenues or $2.0 billion, up slightly from the 8 percent ($1.7 billion) reported in 2007, while Leisure Travel (airfare, hotels & resorts) accounted for 6% of revenues ($1.4 billion) compared to the 7 percent or $1.5 billion reported in 2007.
6. Media accounted for 5 percent of revenues for the full year of 2008 or $1.3 billion, down slightly from the 6 percent ($1.3 billion) reported in 2007.
7. Consumer Packaged Goods and Food Products represented 6 percent of full year revenues ($1.5 billion) up from the 4% or $925 million reported in 2007. Entertainment accounted for at 4% of 2008 full year revenues ($917 million), down slightly from the 5% ($1.0 billion) reported in 2007.

–2008 Annual Results from the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report