Report: Four Ad Categories to Dominate Through 2009

Some categories will reap a disproportionate amount of the spoils as online ad spending increases to $16.1 billion by 2009, according to a new report by JupiterResearch.

Double-digit growth is expected in four categories, including automotive, which will grow 33.8 percent; health (19.7 percent); travel (18.3 percent); and household goods (15.1 percent).

Those categories will be growing the most, percentage-wise, but others will command the biggest total dollar amounts, researchers say. Media and entertainment are expected to take the lead position with $2 billion; financial services second with $1.7 billion; automotive third with $1.4 billion; and travel fourth with $1 billion.

Other categories, like restaurants, will demonstrate significant growth rates, but will contribute only a minor slice of the overall ad spend total.

“The key finding is growth exists, but growth is not monolithic,” said Gary Stein, the lead analyst on the report. “Clearly some categories grow much faster than others. Advertisers in the most transactional industries like travel, automotive, financial services, and media and entertainment have really figured it out.”

These four categories are likely to be the largest adopters of an array of online ad products, including advertising optimization, analytics, and targeting technologies. Agencies and publishers, consequently, should seek out relationships with clients in those industries, the report concluded.

“This report is really written to the agencies,” Stein said. “It’s a good new business tool offering information about what industries to pursue. These industries are going to be more willing to experiment because they have the momentum for success.”

Consumer packaged goods (CPG) and health advertising are also isolated in the study as two categories that will also grow substantially from 2004 to 2009. Although they will not contribute as high a percentage of the total ad spend as the top four categories, they are pegged as leaders in advertising innovation, specifically in brand advertising and loyalty-building campaigns.