Top Global Internet Ad Markets in 2008

Myspace CEO Chris DeWolfe was quoted in TechCrunch 50 as saying that “95% of their ad revenues come from 9 countries”. Based on online ad market estimates* between mid 2007 to mid 2008, the following chart depicts the top global internet ad markets as follows:

* all estimates based on eMarketer [2007-2008], except:

• South Korea (estimate from Asia Media News Daily, Feb 2007)
• Australia (IAB Australia 2007 estimate on Feb 2008)
• Brazil (Projecto Inter-Meios Mar 2008)
• Italy & Spain (BIPE Sep 2007)
• Russia (Group M July 2007)

Please note that these estimates were derived on different dates, and sometimes across different sources, so this is not exactly a perfect comparison. But it nevertheless paints a clear picture that might help with prioritizing international ad markets:

• US is by far the largest online ad market with an estimated size of nearly $25 billion
• US online ad market is larger than all the other international online ad markets combined ($24.9 billion versus $24.2 billion)
• UK and Japan are the next biggest markets with $6.4 and 4.5 billion respectively
• The main European online ad markets are about 80% bigger than the leaders of the Asian market
• China, Canada, France, Germany, South Korea and Australia each have online ad markets which exceed $1 billion
• Russia and Brazil online ad markets are now estimated to be large enough to compare with Italy and Spain respectively

In terms of aggregate size, the European markets throw their weight right behind the US. Japan is a clear leader in Asia with the Australian, Korean and the faster growing Chinese market trailing it. After these global leaders, the other ad markets are expected to be much smaller in comparison. So outside of the US, the above 12 countries are the most significant when it comes to actual monetization potential. As for prioritization, the numbers are clearly telling the story.