Today

As online consumer activity continues to increase, the role of advertising through the traditional media of TV is changing.

According to Group M, a subsidiary of advertising giants WPP, UK advertisers are set to spend more online in the next few years, and potentially leaving the media spend on TV advertising trailing in its' wake.

In the last two years, online advertising revenues have more than doubled, and WPP expects them to rise by a further 30% by the end of this year to £3.4 billion.

Ad revenues for TV do not compare so favourably. Growth this year is almost non-existent, with a predicted increase of less than one percent to £3.56 billion in 2008. There was actually a decrease in TV ad revenues in the year 2006, while advertising spend through newspapers has been falling for since 2004.

Adam Smith, futures director at Group M and the author of the forecast, commented on the prediction that online ad spend will overtake TV: "It will be a milestone achievement. Sweden will get there this year, and the UK is probably going to be next, in the following year."

Although television advertising has long been a successful means by which to make viewers aware of brands and form a connection with them, the hectic lifestyle many consumers lead in today's world means that brands have less time to speak, and have to strive to make a big impact in a more competitive environment.

Although digital TV has changed the way some of us use televisions, many viewers tend not to watch advert breaks: instead they will change the channel, go to the loo, or put the kettle on.

The internet does not have this problem. A mixture of search, display and classified advertising generally means the internet has a more varied way of trying to reach consumers. Using the internet is also a more interactive consumer activity than watching television, and the actual time consumers spend online has been continually increasing.

Wayne Arnold, European chief executive of leading digital marketing agency Profero, told The Independent newspaper: "The internet appeals to consumers in a way that TV does not. Over the past 50 years, advertisers have learnt how to shout down to people, but the internet offers interactivity, unlike TV."

"The little red button on television remote controls, for example, was more of a red herring than anything else: you press it, you get a longer advert and your TV experience is interrupted. That does not happen online where interactivity adds value to the user experience – that's quite important in winning the attention of your customers."

Thus the internet is becoming an ever more important avenue for advertising, and the potential to exploit further components of the online media mix, such as video ads on websites, looks promising as broadband usage and widths continue to grow.

TV advertising, on the other hand, is likely to see itself struggling to vie for the attention of consumers in the coming years, and this is something the advertising agencies are well aware of.