Online advertising booming in Belgium

1 April 2004

BRUSSELS – The online advertising market in Belgium grew by an impressive 60 percent in 2003, according to new industry figures released on Thursday.

Belgium’s Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) said advertisers spent EUR 18.4 million on web advertising in 2003 compared to EUR 11.5 million in 2002.

“The progress we saw in 2003 now means we are more or less on a par with advertising [revenues] in cinemas,” IAB vice president Stephanie Radochitzki told the Libre Belgique newspaper.

The IAB said it was particularly happy that firms selling ‘fast moving consumer goods’ (FMCG’s) – like foods, cosmetics and cleaning products – were now starting to use the internet to advertise their products.

“The FMCG’s have finally discovered the internet. In 2003 they went from three to eight percent of advertising investments,” said Radochitzki.

But the IAB is not being complacent and recognises that a lot more needs to be done to encourage firms to take out online advertisements.

The global advertising market is worth EUR 2 billion a year, so there is still an awful lot of room for the internet to grab a bigger share of the cake, the organisation admits.

Subject: Belgian news