Automakers to Account for 15 percent of U.S. Online Advertising Spend in 2007

Online advertising among the top 10 auto manufacturers accounted for just 2.5 percent of their total ad spend from January to November 2005, but in part because of tight online inventory and higher prices, eMarketer estimates that they will spend $2.7 billion in total online advertising in 2007, nearly twice the $1.4 billion they spent in 2005 - or 15 percent of all U.S. internet advertising spending in 2007, MarketingVOX reports. "Automotive advertisers are gearing up for an online advertising surge, but it's going to come at the expense of other media," said Lisa E. Phillips, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the "Automotive Online: Gearing Up for Greater Spending" report.