I sometimes marvel at working in an industry that didn’t exist when I graduated from college.
Digital marketing via the internet has transformed from being a derided fad in 2000 to being the dominant medium for local advertising in 2025.
The growth of digital advertising accelerated after the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s, accelerated following the Great Recession, and picked up even more speed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to data assembled by Borrell Associates, in 2001, print media – mainly newspapers – owned 63 percent of the local advertising dollars spent in the U.S. Local television and radio stations owned 32 percent. Digital advertising – 1 percent.
Between 2009 and 2012, print’s share of the local ad spend had dropped to 41 percent. TV and radio claimed 34 percent, and digital increased to 17 percent.
15 Years to Overtake Print
In 2015, digital media overtook print and continued to grow its share of local ad spend. By 2024, digital media’s share of local ad dollars surpassed $100 billion, about 70 percent of the national total, according to Borrell’s 2025 Annual Report Benchmarking Local Digital Media.
The report points out that search marketing (search engine optimization and search advertising like Google Ads); banner ads and social media; and streaming video (YouTube, Instagram Reels, TikTok, etc.) “account for 78 percent of all digital advertising and more than half of all local advertising.”
Streaming Video Gaining
It’s no surprise that streaming video is the fastest-growing segment of digital advertising, even though it requires extra effort, such as scripts, good lighting, professional audio, and editing.
Borrell’s clients are mainly legacy media companies – newspapers, TV stations and radio stations – so the report is written from their perspective. All of them are trying to increase digital ad revenue to replace losses in their primary advertising channels.
I value the firm’s research, which gives small business owners a sense of how their peers spend their marketing and advertising dollars. Search marketing and social media ads still lead, but streaming video is closing the gap.
Until next time
The next newsletter arrives June 17. We should have newly crowned pro basketball and pro hockey champions by then.Did you know that June is National Adopt A Cat Month? June 8 is National Best Friends Day; June 10 is National Iced Tea Day; and June 11 is National Corn on the Cob Day.
Until next time, be grateful. Be generous. Be patient. Love.
Thanks for spending some of your time with me, . I appreciate you.
Mark
P.S. - This newsletter was 100 percent created by me, a human.
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