GOING UP, GOING DOWN

According to the latest IAB survey, New Zealand’s total online ad spend was up 26 percent to $99.2 million in the first quarter of this year. It is still dominated by search and directories (41 percent), followed by classifieds (31 percent) and display (25 percent). This means total online display revenue is around $25 million, and online video, which IAB predicts will double in the next four years, is also included in this figure.

Tourism & accommodation and the finance sector are the biggest spenders on display ads, accounting for 15 percent and 12 percent respectively.

IAB forecasts a 12 percent growth in interactive ad revenue each year for the next two years, reaching $510 million by 2015. This is a much more aggressive position than PwC’s independent research, which has online ad spend reaching $543 by 2017. IAB predicts that by 2016 online ad revenue will overtake newspaper advertising revenue.

On the ASX, APN shares have fallen 90 percent since 2007, from over $A5.20 to $A0.53. At Fairfax, shares on the ASX sit at around $A0.51, down from over $A4 five years ago.