Media log on to internet's might

The internet advertising market continues to outpace all other media in terms of growth. While in Q1 the market as a whole grew by 9.1 percent on the same period of 2005, the internet ad market recorded growth of 47.1 percent. Television and press advertising recorded growths below the market average with 7.9 percent and 7.1 percent respectively. Experts believe the trend is set to continue.

"The internet's share in the advertising market will grow at the cost of other media," predicts Maciej Chodorowski from CR Media.

In 2005 spending on internet advertising in Poland reached zł.150 million, and according to Gwidon Humeniuk from CR Media, this year the outlays could reach zł.215 million. In Q1 of this year alone zł.40.5 million was spent on internet advertising, a 97-percent rise on Q1 of 2004, when it was zł.14.4 million.

The internet advertising market in Europe is worth some EUR 4 (zł.15.7) billion, a sum which is mostly generated by UK, France and Germany, the latter of which spent EUR 881 million (zł.3.5 billion) on internet advertising in 2005. This, however, still leaves Europe far behind the US, where internet spending has been growing for three years and in 2005 was $12.5 (zł.38.6) billion. "In 2008 Poland should catch up with the European leaders," says Humeniuk. CR Media forecasts that in 2008 Poland's expenditure on internet advertising will reach zł.377 million.

"Internet is not just another medium. It can change the whole image of the advertising market," says Humeniuk. Traditional media are also making use of the internet's strength, and have begun to migrate to the internet. Five percent of internet users watch eTV every day, and the audience of eRadio Polska Stacja is expected to grow from 100,000 in Q4 2005 to 500,000 in Q4 2006.

Companies that advertise on the internet benefit from the growing popularity of the medium in Poland. The number of broadband internet users has continued to grow, despite the fact broadband rates in Poland are still the most expensive in Europe. In January 2006, the number of internet users was 11 million and is expected to rise to 13 million in 2008. "In 2008, 90 percent of internauts will connect to the internet via a broadband," says Humeniuk.