Electronic advertising expenditures to exceed print ads for first time

A recent study indicates that in 2010, advertisers plan to spend more money on online and digital advertising than on print advertising. If true, this will be the first year this has happened. That’s a huge affirmation for HubPages, a major online content site, and its authors, called hubbers, that churn out quality articles. One expectation of all these writers is to be read. The second compelling reason for the frenzy of online article publishing is to earn a return from all those accompanying advertising placements. Paul Edmondson, one of the HubPages founders, has said repeatedly that content is king. If content is king, then Google AdSense and all those other online advertising purveyors become the royal treasurer.

The study was performed by Outsell of Burlingame California. Outsell is a research and advisory firm that focuses on the publishing and information industries. Their site is the place to go to plink down US $1,295.00 for a copy of the study. That's a pretty pricey pdf file! Outsell must believe in online media as they have a shopping cart ready for your order.

The data was collected in December 2009. Over a thousand advertisers were asked how they planned to spend their assigned ad dollars in 2010. According to Outsell, “"For the first time, advertisers plan to spend more on digital and online marketing and advertising (in 2010)...", this will exceed print advertising expenfitures.

What does this mean to those of us that spend time creating content for the online content sites like HubPages? Online is a good place to be. The study confirms what we all have seen and heard about print media becoming increasingly fragile because of the drop off in advertising dollars. Where have those dollars been going? In to the bank? Those dollars have been going electronic. Now, this study says the teeter-totter is tipping to the electronic side. The slip is turning into a landslide.

The authors of the study are Chuck Richard, Vice President and Lead Analyst and Sheila King, Director of Primary Research.

(Aren’t corporate titles swell? Makes you wonder who is in charge of secondary research?)

In any case, this study will open some eyes and get some media attention. It doesn’t foretell where we are going as much as it screams that we are there.

Chuck Richard comments that this is, "...an industry milestone crossover event..."

How much money are we talking about? Companies could spend nearly 120 billion dollars in cyberspace, which edges past the 111 billion they could spend on print campaigns.

Where will the online advertising spending go? Over 50% of those dollars will go into the business websites. Business spenders obviously feel that the web is the place to be.

Barnes & Noble changed CEOs and, in a way, acknowledge the power and presence of the WWW. On March 18, 2010, the book seller moved the president of its web site to the CEO position. William Lynch, the new corporate CEO, was part of the launch of Barnes & Noble electronic book store, and the electronic book reader, the Nook.