Borrell Report: Online Expected to Get Small Slice of Political Ad Pie

By: Jennifer Saba Roughly $4.8 billion in political advertising is expected to flow to media outlets this election year but surprisingly, only a small portion will go to the Internet.

According to new report Online Political Advertising from Borrell Associates the research firm is forecasting that online political spending will reach only $20 million in 2008 -- less than one-half of a percent of all political advertising.

"It is an odd phenomenon," wrote analysts, "especially given that online ads account for more than 9% of total U.S. advertising."

Borrell reasons that while candidates are still talking up the importance of netting younger voters, adults 55 and older are still the sweet spot. That segment of the population is the least likely to use the Internet compared to other demographic sets. Borrell cites that half of people 55 and older spend less than an hour per week online.

Campaign managers are not entirely convinced that the Internet is the best place to reach out to undecided voters either mainly because they fear they cannot control the message.

"One of the biggest things working against online advertising is its reputation and lack of control," Shawn Riegsecker, CEO of online media agency Centro, said in the report. "Nobody wants to take a chance with the Internet. Planners and consultants have limited chances to hit a home run, and they know they can with television."

Broadcast television is expected to pull in the largest piece of political advertising about 60%. Newspapers are projected to reap a 17% share.

Of the $20 million in political advertising estimated to go to the Internet, about half of it will be earmarked for paid search. Roughly $5 million will go to streaming video and standard ad formats, respectively.

Borrell points to some relatively positive news in the online arena as far as newspaper Web sites are concerned. "Leveraging the capabilities of their sites and advertising systems has brought them the second highest amount of political ad revenue after search vendors," analysts wrote.