Online Advertising Hits One Billion Dollars – Note My Dr. Evil Pinkie To Mouth

Full disclosure: I sit on the national Board of Directors for IAB Canada – Interactive Advertising Bureau.
The press release, 2006 Canadian Online Advertising Tops $1 Billion, hit the wires today and press all across Canada (both traditional, industry and Blogs) lit up with the news that online advertising continues to surge.
Here’s some content from the press release:
“The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB) today announced that 2006 Canadian Online Advertising Revenues surged to an unprecedented $1.01 billion dollars for the year. The 2006 actuals represent a 26% increase over the $801 million originally estimated by the IAB for 2006; and an 80% increase over the 2005 actuals of $562 million… Of the $1.01 billion, approximately $208 million or 21 percent of ad dollars were allocated to the French Canadian Online market, representing growth of 68% over the 2005 actuals of $124 million.”
And now, the question we’re all curious about: what’s the breakdown:
“ – Display advertising (including banner CPM and direct response advertising, plus contests, sponsorship and microsites) – 36%.
– Search advertising – 35%.
– Classifieds/Directories – 27%.
– Email – 2 %.”
This really struck me as curious. Search still falls short to banner ads and look at how small the email marketing space is. These numbers keep growing as more online marketing opportunities arise and it’s insanely impressive considering how small the online advertising market still is in Canada.
There’s also no slowing down this year:
“IAB Canada’s projected total for 2007 Online advertising in Canada, is estimated to be $1.337 billion – a full 32 percent more than the 2006 actual of $1.01 billion.”
Where’s the gripe for someone like me who runs a Digital Marketing Agency?
Talent.
As the industry grows with these unprecedented numbers, we’re all still struggling to find the right talent. What types of talent will be needed to sustain this growth? Strategy, client services, designers, content creators and the technology people (programmers, integrators, database experts, etc…). The challenge is that they need to be somewhat specialized in understanding online marketing. It’s not just client services, it’s client services online. Individuals need to be in the loop, aware, reading the “readers” and adding their voices to the conversation.
Want to make tons of money? Start a trade school for advertising and communications in the online marketing space.
You can read the full news item here: IAB Canada – 2006 Canadian Online Advertising Tops $1 Billion.