It may be true that many consumers were opening their laptops before their newspapers each morning fo 2010, and marketing dollars have followed accordingly. A recent report from eMarketer indicates that 2010 will be the first year that online advertising dollars exceed investment in newspaper ads.
EMarketer says that total newspaper ad spend – for print and online editions – will fall from $27.6 billion in 2009 to $25.7 billion this year. Meanwhile, the firm reports that internet ad spend has risen from $22.7 billion to $25.8 billion, marking the first time that online ad budgets have surpassed newspaper advertising dollars.
Moreover, eMarketer forecasts that internet advertising will continue to climb, reaching $28.5 billion in 2011. Newspaper ad spend is expected to continue to decline, dropping to $24.6 billion next year.
These predictions support Brafton's earlier reports that internet ad spending hit record-breaking heights during Q3 2010.
While traditional newspaper ad spend is losing ground, marketers should remember that Americans are still avid newsreaders, albeit with changing news consumption habits. As Brafton reported, a recent survey from Pew indicates 75 percent of U.S. internet users read news online, and earlier Pew reports reveal that newspaper sites are not necessarily their first news destinations.
Search engines are increasingly becoming a window to headlines. Pew says one-third of Americans regularly search the web for news via Google and other search engines and brands may want to consider offering industry-specific news content on their sites to attract web visitors.
