Japan Mobile & Web Marketing By Tony Torres

US online ad revenue down 5.4% in third quarter

The ongoing financial slump has claimed a once thought impervious victim: Online Advertising. Latest data shows online ad revenue is the US is down 5.4% in the third quarter with spending totaling $5.5 billion, down from $5.84 billion a year ago and a substantial decline from the peak of $6.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008. I don’t have the latest numbers, but in 2008, Japan saw a 12% increase in Web ad revenue and a 60% jump in mobile ad pending, all the while traditional media channels saw their spending drop 35%. Mobile advertising continues to dominate the Japanese media landscape in terms of growth, but total spending still represents less than 2% of all ad spend in Japan. I suspect mobile ads spend will hit the 10% mark within the next 5 years.