European Online Advertising Swells

LONDON – The European online advertising market swelled by 30 percent in 2004, market researchers say, indicating the beginning of a rebound from three years ago when the market hit an all-time low. In 2004, the European ad market tallied in at 2.1 billion euros, or $2.8 billion.

According to JupiterResearch, the European ad market is expected to maintain steady growth in 2005 by another 28 percent, coming in at 2.7 billion euros, or $3.7 billion.

From there, Jupiter says, growth will continue through 2008 to eventually hit a $5 billion industry, with Germany, Britain and Italy listed among the top-ranking European ad publishers.

In a similar report by Nielsen//NetRatings, ad sales experienced unprecedented growth in banner and skyscraper ads, surging in number by 24 percent, from 76,375 in November 2003, to 94,939 in November 2004, the report said.

Nielsen//NetRatings tracked the strongest growth – around 30 percent – in Sweden, France and the Netherlands. Whereas Italy, Britain, Switzerland and Denmark trailed behind only minimally.

Those countries that showed a less enthusiast growth spurt in the online ad market were Spain, Belgium, Norway and Germany, JupiterResearch states, with only 10 percent growth.

According to the study, the number of online advertisers increased by 11 percent, from 15,716 in November 2003 to 17,441 in November 2004. The number of Internet ad campaigns in Europe increased 10 percent year-over-year from 33,472 in November 2003, to 36,824 in November 2004.