online ads

Borrell Associates says "pureplay" Internet radio generated $206.3 million in streaming audio advertising in 2011, significantly topping broadcasters' $67.4 million. And while Borrell Associates’ new Benchmarking Local Online Media: 2011 Revenue Survey predicts radio will double its streaming audio revenue in 2012, it'll still be only half of what "only-online" radio does.

Borrell says streaming audio ads represented 22% ($67.4 million) of broadcasters’ 2011 online revenue. 

Local stations didn't have a great 2011 online. While the online advertising market grew overall, local radio's share of the pool didn't keep up. While the rest of the online media industry grew 20.6%, says Borrell, radio grew only 6.1%, giving them less than 2% of 2011's $16.4 billion total.

That said, Borrell is looking for radio to turn it around, with a nearly $410 million 2012 in local online ad sales, for a 35% increase over 2011.

(See Borrell's predictions from November here. We also recently reported on BIA/Kelsey's 2011 local online ad revenue recap here.)

Borrell Associates CEO Gordon Borrell will both participate in the "Charting Digital Audio Ad Dollars" panel, and present a "POV" (see story in today's issue) at our upcoming RAIN Summit West in Las Vegas (more here). Read more on the Borrell study here.

A recent survey of ad execs shows buyers plan to shift their online budgets more towards "brand advertising," and away from "direct response" style ads, in the coming year.

Inside Radio today reports on a survey by online ad tech company Vizu, where 64% of ad buyers said they'll increase online brand advertising this year. One in five said that increase will top 20%. Sixty percent said the increase in brand advertising will come at the expense of direct response budgets.

Even so, 56% of marketers still expect to increase direct response budgets in 2012 (which shows that the $30 billion a year online ad market is still growing).

Currently, about two-thirds of online ad campaigns are "performance-based" (e.g. "cost-per-click").

“The radio ad marketplace is used to a brand-friendly environment and will demand the same from online audio publishers,” Katz360 president Brian Benedik told Inside Radio. “Over the coming months, we will see larger ad units, video and other customized opportunities for the ad community."

The Interactive Advertising Bureau and webcaster Pandora have already introduced and offer new ad units designed more with brand advertising in mind, offering more screen space, HTML5 technology, video, and more.

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