Branded and video ads ´set to gain on search´

Branded and video will grow to rival search as the major players in online ad spending, an industry expert has claimed.

According to mediapost.com, eMarketer chief executive Geoff Ramsey made the prediction in his opening remarks at the Online Media, Marketing & Advertising expo in New York earlier this week.

Mr Ramsey is reported to have said that digital ad spending will increase 32 per cent next year, reaching $28.8 billion.

He added that branded and video advertising are already catching up with search and their budgets are likely to converge in the immediate future.

Mr Ramsey said that Google´s acquisition of YouTube meant that it was in an excellent position to capture these new markets in a similar way to how it has come to dominate the search advertising world.

However, writing on a separate blog on the mediapost site, Ashkan Karbasfrooshan said that he was unconvinced by this claim.

He wrote: "While that sure makes sense, I am still waiting to see Google/YouTube execute this. Time will tell."