Online is #2 media in Canadian Ad Spend 2011/04/19 Samuel-f Parent Research, Magazines, Éducation, Radio, Advertising, Out Of Home, Ad Spend, Direct Marketing, Traditional media, Television, Yellow Pages, Newspapers online advertising, télévision, newspapers, direct marketing, marketing, radio

I previously published IAB Canada’s figures about total online ad spend in Canada and how it split by placement type. This time around though I will put that into perspective compared to other media & marketing spend in Canada. Before you ask, yes my friend Rob Booth did publish his take on this study last week. I’m taking a different spin on it.

Back to the facts:

• 2.1$ Billion estimated in online ad spend in Canada in 2010 (split among search (SEM), display advertising (banners, buttons and video), directories & classifieds, and finally email (which is only 1%)
  • Of the 2.1$B, 400$M is estimated in French Language advertising.
  • 16+% growth estimated between 2009 and 2010
  • 2.4$ Billion projected in online ad spend in Canada in 2011;
    • 455$M projected for French Canada
    • 15% growth projected between 2010 and 2011

Wow, big numbers! But how does this compare to the big picture?

• 2009 = 14.4$B in total ad spend in Canada when you consider eMarketer’s September 2010 estimate of this market (which includes television, radio, newspapers, community weeklies, out of home, magazines, Internet, mobile and cinema) and include Yellow Pages and Direct Marketing.
  • Down 2.7% vs 2008 due to the economic situation
  • Internet was up 14% in 2009 vs 2008 greatly outpacing the market
  • 12.6% = Internet’s share of total advertising in Canada in 2009
• 2010 = 14.9$B in total ad spend in Canada using the same sources
  • Up 3.6% vs 2009
  • Internet was up 16% from 2009
  • 14.2% = Internet’s share of total advertising in Canada in 2010
• 2011 = 15.3$B projected total ad spend in Canada (through eMarketer, SMV & Warc projections all published in 2010)
  • Up 2.8% vs 2010
  • Internet should be up another 15% from 2010
  • 15.8% = should be Internet’s share of total advertising in Canada in 2011

2012 = 16.2$B projected total ad spend in Canada (through eMarketer, SMV & Warc projections all published in 2010)

• • Up 5.3% vs 2011
  • Internet should be up another 20% from 2011, still outpacing the market
  • 18% = should be Internet’s share of total advertising in Canada in 2012

Wow, big numbers! But how does that compare to other media and marketing platforms?

• 2009 – top 5 media by ad spend

1. Television : 3.1$B (CRTC 2010), down 8.6% from 2008, 21.5% of all ad spend in Canada
2. Daily newspapers : 2.09$B (CNA 2010), down 18.4%, 14.5% of ad spend
3. Direct Marketing : 1.86$B (TD 2008), up 12%, 12.9% of ad spend
4. Internet : 1.81$B (IAB 2010), up 14%, 12.6% of ad spend
5. Radio : 1.46$B (CRTC 2010), down 5.7% , 10.1% of ad spend

• 2010 – top 5 media by ad spend

1. Television : 3.2$B (Warc 2010/08), up 4.1% from 2009, 21.6% of all ad spend in Canada
2. Daily newspapers : 2.2$B (Warc 2010/08), up 6.7%, 14.9% of ad spend
3. Internet : 2.11$B (IAB 2010), up 16%, 14.2% of ad spend
4. Direct Marketing : 1.94$B (projection), up 4.5%, 13% of ad spend
5. Radio : 1.53$B (Warc 2010/08), up 4.8%, 10.2% of ad spend

• 2011 – top 5 media by ad spend

1. Television : 3.3$B (Warc 2010/08), up 3% from 2010, 21.7% of all ad spend in Canada
2. Internet : 2.43$B (eMarketer 2010/09), up 15%, 15.8% of ad spend
3. Daily newspapers : 2.4$B (Warc 2010/08), up 7.7%, 15.6% of ad spend
4. Direct Marketing : 2.04$B (projection), up 4.9%, 13.3% of ad spend
5. Radio : 1.6$B (Warc 2010/08), up 3.6%, 10.4% of ad spend

• 2012 – top 5 media by ad spend – projected based of average growth of last 5 years per media

1. Television : 3.35$B, up 0.7% from 2010, 20.7% of all ad spend in Canada
2. Internet : 2.9$B (eMarketer 2010/09), up 20%, 18% of ad spend
3. Daily newspapers : 2.29$B (Warc 2010/08), down 4.7%, 14.2% of ad spend
4. Direct Marketing : 2.14$B (projection), up 4.9%, 13.2% of ad spend
5. Radio : 1.65$B, up 3.6%, 10.2% of ad spend

So what does this mean? If means more and more advertisers and marketers are getting online. They understand its value to them. If you are not yet active with online advertising & marketing, be you a large or very small advertiser – get with the program. There is a way in which it will work wonders for you if you take the time to test out various tactics.

If you’re only doing search, it’s time to discover display and directories. It’s time to discover behavioral targeting, retargeting and intent targeting. If you’re only doing classifieds online, try something else. The mix of all media and tactics is what works best. Exactly what mix will vary from one product / service / target audience to another. You need to test things to see what works best for you.