According to a new survey by ZenithOptimedia.com Internet advertising spending will very shortly account for 7% of all global ad spend in 2008. In monetary terms the breakdown is as follows; online advertising is forecast to reach $23.9 billion before 2006 is out. It then seems set to rise to $28.6 billion in 2007 before finally surging up in its prediction to $32.5 billion in 2008. Simply put, that means we’re in the process of witnessing an almost astonishing growth spurt of 75% up from $18.5 billion in 2005.

The message for all Christian book publishers is simple - a seismic shift is taking place in the advertising world which Christian publishers can no longer bypass.

Virtually every industry sector in the world is shifting its advertising spend away from print to include a large proportion for online advertising. In my humble opinion, many companies which are now happy pouring money into online advertising these days are probably companies which only a few short years ago rated Internet advertising as virtually worthless.

Times have certainly changed haven’t they?

The stats quoted above doubtlessly suggest the rapid acceleration in this new advertising medium is only just beginning. In an age when today’s younger, more technically adept audience would never dream of reaching up and blowing the dust off a print directory to search for something (they’d just use Google instead), why on earth would you consider spending good money advertising in one, even if it is “Christian”?

To sum up, all those who use Christian advertising need to be aware that the world has taken a major left fork in the advertising road up onto the Internet. Therefore Christian publishers, who value their authors, as well as their own revenues need to be advertising their latest Christian book releases online, or see their returns diminish rapidly over these next few years. I wish it weren’t true, but it does seem in this context that “the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” Luke 16:8 because they simply got there first.

However, I’m sure God himself would applaud if more Christian businesses were the first to innovate, thereby even forcing entire industries to turn around in response, through the simple sheer brilliance of what they brought to the marketplace. After all isn’t it God’s desire that we are the head and not the tail in all that we set our hand to? Deuteronomy 28:13

Copyright 2006 David Alston - Marketing Consultant to Sovereign World Ltd.