NEW YORK, NY -- December 17, 2003 -- The Online Publishers Association (OPA) announced today that it has published its 2003 Online Media Industry Year-in-Review, providing its perspective on key developments in the online advertising and publishing business in the year past. Following a comprehensive review, the OPA identified the following four developments among the year's most significant advances:

1. Internet Fully Ingrained in Lives of the Most Desirable and Influential Consumers. While 2002 sparked the "Daytime is Prime Time on the Internet" revelation, 2003 was characterized by an increasing body of evidence that the Internet has become the single most important medium in the lives of some of the most desirable U.S. consumers. From teens, to highly sought after 18-34 year old men, to historically hard-to-reach C-level executives, 2003 has left no doubt that the Web is the medium of choice -- both at home and in the workplace -- with these consumers now spending more time per day/week/month online than with any other medium.
2. Online Ad Spending Rebounds. The online ad market made a significant comeback in 2003 on the strength of search and rich media advertising. In fact, Q1 of this year marked the first time in two years that the industry had seen two consecutive quarters of growth, and the trend continued through Q2 and Q3. Most notably, the growth was driven by big, traditional brand advertisers who began publicly recognizing the importance of the media consumption shift and incorporating the Internet as an integral component of their overall media plans.
3. Online Ad Market Diversifies: Search Soars, Rich Media Rises. The one-two punch of search and rich media, which powered the explosive growth of online advertising in 2003, also led to a natural and healthy segmentation of the marketplace. While search proved to be an effective tool for advertisers with direct response objectives, branded online content sites led the way in developing a myriad of rich media formats -- capitalizing on skyrocketing broadband penetration -- that were actively embraced by, and proven to be effective for, traditional brand advertisers. New formats such as the half page ad and TV quality video emerged, offering a better creative palette to advertisers seeking to build image and favorability.
4. Research Proves that Brands Build Brands Online. The year 2003 saw quality content sites consistently outperforming the industry in both ad performance and ad revenue growth, with the two being inextricably linked. With more and more online publishers becoming and remaining profitable, the sustained revenue growth of these companies signaled a clear redistribution of brand advertising dollars toward the quality content sites, whose trusted brand names and loyal, high affinity audiences deliver powerful results.

As further evidence of this last notable development, the OPA also released the latest findings from an analysis of Dynamic Logic advertising effectiveness studies conducted on OPA member sites. The research shows that advertising on OPA member sites outperforms Dynamic Logic Market Norms for online advertising overall. Advertising on OPA sites is 7% higher in generating Aided Brand Awareness, 5% higher in Message Association, 32% higher in Brand Favorability and 29% higher in Purchase Intent. The full OPA 2003 Online Media Industry Year-in-Review, complete with month-by-month developments, is available at the Online Publishers Association Web site at www.online-publishers.org/review2003

About the Online Publishers Association

Founded in June 2001, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) is an industry trade organization whose mission is to advance the interests of high-quality online publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Members of OPA represent the standards in Internet publishing with respect to editorial quality and integrity, credibility and accountability. OPA member sites have a combined, unduplicated reach of 109.2 million visitors, or 73 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience (Source: comScore Media Metrix, September 2003 combined home/work/university data). For more information about the Online Publishers Association, visit www.online-publishers.org.

CONTACT:
Lisa Carparelli
Online Publishers Association
(917) 743-4537
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