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The new-media advertising spend for the next year is set to

increase, according to a new study conducted by ISBA and the Advertising

Research Consortium.

The survey, which looks at how major UK advertisers are using new media

in their marketing communications, states that two-thirds of companies

polled advertise on the internet - of which one-half plan to increase

their spend next year. However, 12 per cent expect to see a decline in

spend.

In the main, advertising spend in new media is low with one-half of the

companies surveyed only allocating £50,000 or less per year. Some

10 per cent do spend more that £500,000, and of these advertisers

the financial, auto and durable sectors were dominant.

The report also points out that those companies which spend more than

£10 million on their overall marketing and communications are the

most likely to plan an increase in expenditure. However, 71 per cent of

those in the financial sector expect new-media spending to decline or at

best remain the same - indicating that advertising spends may have

peaked in this sector.

Debbie Morrison, ISBA's director of membership services, said: "The

greatest surprise is that new media remains very firmly within the remit

of marketing departments - even when projects involve e-commerce or

other heavily technical activities. New media is seen as a standard

tool, funded and managed by marketing.

"Given this, it is striking that almost half of the advertisers surveyed

believe that they are still failing to successfully integrate online and

offline media."

Morrison stated that the report highlighted that success in new media

and e-commerce depended on there being a clear strategy and vision at

the highest management levels. "There needs to be board-level

understanding and commitment to the role of new media within the

business," she said.

"The greater the investment and the stronger the commitment to

accountability - in developing strategy and carrying new-media

communications forward - the greater the success. Those companies which

have been most successful are those that have had the most visible

new-media 'champions' at senior management level."

Jonathan Lace, the author of the report and the Allied Domecq associate

professor in advertising at Southampton Business School, said: "Despite

the burst of the internet bubble, the situation among leading

advertisers appears robust. Spending on website development, e-commerce

and internet advertising will continue."

The report also found that more than 60 per cent of companies have used

both direct marketing and public relations to drive traffic to

sites.

Three-fifths of companies have used direct marketing in their e-commerce

activity and 35 per cent have used sales promotion.