InPageAds Blog

New Zealand: Online advertising generated close to $135 million in 2007, equating to just over 5.8 percent of the advertising industry as a whole, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau of New Zealand.

This is the first full-year result for IAB’s tracking, so year-on-year data is not available.

Where does it fit in?

• Newspapers – 34.4%
• Television – 28%
• Radio – 11.7%
• Magazines 10.9%

The IAB reports that Q4 spending was down slightly at $37.85 million from Q3’s total of $39.67 million but larger than both Q1 and Q2.

The IAB/PwC Insight reports that classified advertising is the largest segment of interactive advertising at 43.62%, with display advertising accounting for 32.85% and search and directories for the remaining 23.53%.

Mark Evans, CEO of the IAB says that the total spend in 2007 is higher than many in the industry had predicted and shows that interactive advertising is becoming an increasingly significant part of New Zealand marketing budgets.

The percentages for search and display are low compared with other countries and this is where growth is expected. Faster and cheaper broadband connections will also fuel growth. Interactive advertising represents over 10% of total advertising in the US and in the UK over 15%. “This figure shows there’s still plenty of growth to come, and we expect continued strong growth over the next few years,” says Evans.

According to InPage C.E.O. Grant Jackson, “New Zealand is still in the early stages of embracing online advertising and it is catching on fast. As indicated by the 2007 figures, both the business and advertising sectors are embracing the new medium, the year ahead should see some exciting growth.”

Lee Williams, Chairman of the IAB says the size of the interactive advertising market in New Zealand shows that interactive advertising is starting to become mainstream. “At $135 million, interactive advertising is starting to challenge some of the more traditional media types. The only question in my mind is not if, but when, interactive advertising becomes one of the leading channels for New Zealand advertisers”, Williams says.