The Kelsey Group has reported in its "Outlook for Directional and Interactive Advertising" that global advertising spend was just over $600 billion in 2007. It predicts that number will hit $707 billion by 2012.
Nearly all of that growth will be the result of the migration of traditional ad spending to new media platforms. The worldwide total revenue for interactive advertising was $45 billion in 2007. It is expected to grow to $147 billion in 2012.
"It's no surprise that the global advertising industry is experiencing a full-scale shift to mixed-media platforms, with interactive driving a significant share of overall industry growth," said Matt Booth, a senior vice president with The Kelsey Group.
Nearly half of the global spend was in the United States in 2007, but the U.S. share as percentage of the total is expected to decline by 2012. During the forecast period (2007-2012), the United States is expected to see interactive advertising revenues grow from $22.5 billion to $62.4 billion. As a percent of total advertising spend interactive advertising was 7.4% in 2007 and is expected to reach 21% in 2012.