Financial Ads Lead the Pack

Boldly going where advertisers seem to go no more, financial services companies easily led the June list of companies spending ad dollars on the Web. According to a new report from Milpitas, Calif.-based Nielsen NetRatings. Providian Bank Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Capital One Financial Corp were the first, second and fourth leading online advertisers respectively for June 2001.

The three financial services companies spent $51.7 million on Net advertising while combined online ad spending for the top 10 Web advertisers was only $143 million.

"The financial ads are an example of the current trend in the world of online advertising--the merger of branding and direct marketing," Allen Weiner, NetRatings vice president and principal analyst, said in the report. Weiner also said that the burst of financial ads is a sign of the times: "With the economy slowing down, financial services companies are doing everything they can to stimulate consumer spending."--Sid Ross

DATA POINTS*:
--Providian Bank Corp. spent a little more than $20 million in June on U.S. Web Ads. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. spent just under $17 million. Sony Corp. came in third with $15.5 million and Capitol One Financial Corp. was fourth with $14.6 million. AOL Time Warner spent $14.1 million.

--Rounding out the list of top 10 online ad spenders for June: Classmates Online; Bertlelsmann Ag; Orbitz; Neway; Amazon.com.

*All figures represent U.S. ad spending.