Online advertising spending in the UK jumped over the £3bn level for the first time ever last year.

Online advertising spending, according to new research, has actually grabbed market share from other traditional parts of the media, such as magazines, newspapers and direct mail. Ad spends across all media rose 4.2 per cent to £19.4bn in 2007 in the UK. The figures were released by the Advertising Association and the World Advertising Research Centre.

Online advertising was the fastest-growing sector. It accounted for almost 16 per cent of total UK ad spend. Direct mail advertising witnessed a 6.5 per cent fall to £2.17bn last year. Meanwhile, the cinema advertising sector in the UK registered 10.1 per cent year-on-year growth. The overall cinema market was worth £207m, just 1.1 per cent of the country’s overall advertising market.

On the other hand, outdoor advertising share rose to £1.05bn, accounting for 5.5 per cent of the UK ad spending. The television sector could only manage a modest 2.3 per cent year-on-year growth to £4.67bn, retaining roughly 24 per cent of all UK ad spend.