Industry hits ad spend target 12 months early

New Media Age, December, 2003 by Chris Dillabough

UK online ad spend in 2003 could be as high as 350m [pounds sterling], up from just under 200m [pounds sterling] in 2002, according to the growth curve suggested by figures released this week.

Figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers, regarded as the industry's official count, show that advertisers spent 151.6m [pounds sterling] on Internet advertising in the first half of this year.

In Q1 2003, advertisers spent 70.3m [pounds sterling] online, and 81.3m [pounds sterling] in Q2.

If that quarterly growth rate of 15.6% has held, the full-year figures for 2003, which the IAB will release in the spring, will show online ad spend in excess of 354m [pounds sterling], equating to a 56% increase on 2002.

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