Internet Advertising in the US reached $5.5 billion in Q1 2009 according to a report by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Compared to traditional advertising mediums, this is still a solid result, but given online advertising’s meteoric rise over the past 7 years, the result will disappoint a few in the industry. Q1 2009 represents the first year-on-year revenue decline since Q1 2002.

source: IAB and PriceWaterhouseCoopers 2009

Whilst online advertising is definitely attracting a significant proportion of corporate marketing budgets thanks to unrivaled targeting, accountability and flexibility, it doesn’t protect is from the curse of all marketing mediums – tough economic times.

David Silverman, a PriceWaterhouseCoopers partner reiterates the reality of the outcome:

Current economic conditions are clearly challenging. Nonetheless, interactive media continues to consume a larger piece of the overall advertising pie.

Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB continues:

…interactive media continues to gain share of marketing spend. We’re confident that growth will resume as the U.S. economic climate improves. Interactive advertising is the most accountable way to reach consumers—and in this economy, digital media will be a core component of any successful marketing campaign.

So online marketing is only human (so to speak), but the experts agree that this result is only a temporary hurdle in the continued growth of the space.

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