Online ads nibble at traditional advertising budget

NEWS Online advertising will cut spending on direct mail by a third in the next four years, according to a survey from Forrester Research. The report found that UK online advertising revenues will rise from £50m in 1999 to £625m by 2004, and the traditional direct mail market will be hit hardest by this growth. However, Forrester predicts the outdoor and radio advertising markets will also begin to see their revenues dented over the next few years as a result of the growth in online spend. Caroline Sceates, analyst at Fletcher Research, now the UK arm of Forrester, said Internet advertising will become more important because of the ability to set up precision targeting. However, she warned that Web sites must provide advertisers with more consistent and measurable data about their audiences.