SYDNEY - From the humble banner ad and pop-up window, online advertising has become a billion dollar business.
According to Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Australia general manager Patty Keegan the internet advertising industry is showing good growth, and, as a result, helping websites become more profitable.
"The Australianonline advertising market is continuing to grow steadily, and we expect to see 30 to 40 per cent growth over 2006 figures," Ms Keegan said.
"Advertising is pretty much the (revenue) model for the web. As more and more people use the web, and broadband speeds get faster, the ad dollars will follow."
She says she believes a good online advertising campaign is one that entertains the viewer and doesn't annoy them.
"(A good campaign) lets people play with it, have a laugh, and makes it fun, so that it's not intrusive," says Ms Keegan.
To highlight the creativity of Australia's online advertising industry, IAB Australia this week launched the 2008 Australia Interactive Advertising Awards.
The awards are given to online advertising in five different categories: automotive, consumer goods, financial, travel and leisure and fusion.
Ms Keegan says the financial, computing and automotive sectors are the biggest online advertisers.
Last year's winners GPY&R and Tiger Spike went on to win Gold in the Mobile Platforms category of the 2007 MIXX Awards in New York for their Telstra Street Idol campaign.
"There's no doubt that Australia is developing some exceptional campaigns on par with our international competitors," Ms Keegan said.
"Given the strong growth in the online advertising market we fully expect to receive a significant number of entries across all the categories."
