Internet advertising bucks the downturn

$17.3bn has been spent on online advertising so far in 2008

Internet advertising revenues are holding up well, despite the current economic downturn, according to figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

US revenues rose 11 per cent in the third quarter of the year to almost $5.9bn (£3.93bn), up two per cent on the previous quarter.

"The growth of interactive advertising over the past few years has stabilised due in large part to the difficult economic climate," said Randall Rothenberg, president of the IAB.

"Interactive advertising continues to be the most measurable and cost-effective way to reach consumers, and we see more and more marketers seeking to harness its power."

Some $17.3bn (£11.55bn) has been spent on online advertising so far in 2008, up from $15.2bn (£10.14bn) in the first three quarters of last year, and beating the record set in the first nine months of 2007 by nearly 14 per cent.

"A weakening economy will continue to be a challenge to all forms of advertising-supported media," said David Silverman, a partner at PwC.

"However, the internet should be better poised to withstand the storm, given its ability to combine performance-based advertising with broad-based branding. "