Online ad market stabilised in Q2 - researcher

HELSINKI, FINLAND: Coupled with the improving global economy, global online advertising market showed signs of recovery in April-June after a steep decline at the start of the year, researcher Strategy Analytics said.

Quarterly online advertising revenues fell 3.1 per cent from a year ago, but grew 0.6 per cent from the previous quarter, SA said in its quarterly study of the sector.

Global advertising sector revenues have been battered this year as clients have cut spending during the downturn.

"Similar to last quarter, all the U.S. online advertising companies, except Google, are continuing to see their revenue decline, while the majority of international online advertising companies are still growing," SA analyst Martin Olausson wrote in the report.

"With its strong growth, the Chinese online advertising market remains a bright spot in the market, signaling an earlier recovery than most Western markets," he said.

Strategy Analytics said cutback of advertising budgets has had more negative impact on small advertising companies than on the big global conglomerates.

"A trend of market concentration has emerged, whereby global online advertising revenues concentrate to bigger and more influential companies, as small advertising companies find it more difficult to attract advertisers in the recession," Olausson said.