By IANS,
San Francisco: Internet advertising revenues in the US jumped to an all-time high in the first half of 2012, an indication of the increasing importance of internet as a marketing platform and a driver of the US economy, said a report.
In the first six months of this year, US internet ad revenues reached $17 billion, up 14 percent from the same period in 2011, according to latest numbers from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), a US trade association for interactive marketing, reported Xinhua.
The IAB report Thursday showed significant growth in mobile ad sales, which surged to $1.2 billion in the first half of 2012, an increase of 95 percent year-over-year.
Digital video is also a highlight as the sector posted more than $1 billion in ad revenues in the first two quarters of 2012, up 18 percent over the year-ago period.
“This report establishes that marketers increasingly embrace mobile and digital video, as well as the entire panoply of interactive platforms, to reach consumers in innovative and creative ways,” Randall Rothenberg, chief executive officer of IAB, said in a statement.
He noted that a recent study from Harvard Business School has identified the ad-supported Internet ecosystem as a critical driver of the US economy.
“Clearly, the digital marketing industry is on a positive trajectory that will propel the entire American business landscape forward,” said Rothenberg.
The IAB is comprised of more than 500 media and technology companies that are responsible for selling 86 percent of online advertising in the US.