Internet Marketing Cashes In

2011 was apparently a popular year to run digital marketing campaigns online, as the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report found that internet ads netted $31 billion in revenues.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau announced that the total was 22 percent higher than 2010's figure, and the fourth quarter revenues for 2011 were record-breaking, bringing in $9 billion. Mobile marketing also soared, experiencing a triple-digit year-over-year increase (149 percent) to reach $1.6 billion for all of 2011. Digital video stood strong, beating 2010's figure of $1.4 billion to hit $1.8 billion last year.

"The year 2011 saw mobile advertising become a meaningful category," stated David Silverman, a partner at PwC U.S. "By combining some of the best features of the internet, along with portability and location-based technology, mobile advertising is enabling marketers to deliver timely, targeted, relevant and local advertisements in a manner that was not previously possible. It is for these reasons that we expect strong growth to continue with mobile advertising."

The study also found that retail advertisers remained the biggest spenders in internet advertising, taking a 22 percent share of the total by shelling out $7.1 billion.

Randall Rothenberg, IAB's president and CEO, commented that the numbers were major achievements for internet ads in general and mobile in particular. He predicted that mobile's growth will be continuous as smartphones and other mobile devices continue to gain popularity, noting that advertisers and brands will likely pay more attention to the channel "as these screens become even more crucial to the marketing mix."

Indeed, a report released by comScore early this month found that by the end of February, more than 104 million U.S. residents owned smartphones. This represented a 14 percent increase in the smartphone-owning population from November.