Online – 3.5 out of 5

Online is on the upsurge, according to MIC’s survey of Canadian media buyers. Interest is being generated by new thinking about channel planning and need for ROI accountability as well as a lot of positive news out of the U.S. in terms of ad expenditures and how much is now being allocated to online budgets. Media buyers here are in the midst of planning for next year and say it looks extremely positive since clients who hadn’t before considered online in their long-term planning process are doing so for 2005. Advertisers that have been using online are increasing their budgets.

The good news for the medium is that clients without transactional Web sites – from packaged goods companies to retailers – are making online an integral part of the mix and using it as a communications tool just like other media, not just a way to drive online sales. Online exposure is now impacting offline sales. The industry is predicting significant growth in online spending in 2005 and 2006.