Mike Shields of Media Week had a nice article regarding eMarketer’s online advertising forcast. For those who missed it, I have included it in its entirety…(The last paragraph bodes very well for the continued increase in Leverage for the Lead Exchange)

Mike Shields: Media Week…For the third time in the last 12 months, Web researcher eMarketer has scaled back its estimates for online advertising in 2008 due to an uncertain economy.

The firm, which produces its spending estimates in part by culling together various predictions from top researchers in the space, now predicts that online ad spending in the U.S. will reach $24.9 billion, down slightly from the $25.9 billion forecast issued last March. That March figure represent a slight downgrade in expectations itself, as eMarketer had original put spending expectations for 2008 at $27.5 billion last October.

Also, this past May, eMarketer reduced it’s spending estimates for social network advertising to $1.4 billion, down from an earlier projection of $1.6 billion.

The reason for the slightly reduced enthusiasm is likely attributable to the shaky U.S. economy, which has left evidence of it’s impact on previously red hot digital media segment in recent lackluster earnings announcements for companies such as AOL and ValueClick. Yet eMarketer maintains that 2008 will net out as a solid year for the medium, which should see ad revenue surge by 17.4 percent, an enviable growth rate by most media’s standards.

Still, the consecutive forecast downgrades mark a noteworthy change from recent years, when spending forecast upgrades were the norm and the industry enjoyed yearly growth ranging from 20 to 30 percent. It seems that even the most trackable and efficient medium is not immune to economic conditions. Earlier this year, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers, online ad spending reached $5.8 billion, it’s second highest level ever—though that figure represented the end of a 13-quarter growth streak.

However, while online advertising may feel the impact of a potential recession, it continues to benefit from a more macro shift in consumer media usage and marketers’ spending habits. “Even as the potent mix of a misfiring economy and consumers’ changing media habits shave advertising dollars from traditional venues, such as newspapers and television, Internet ad spending will continue to grow rapidly,” said eMarketer. senior analyst David Hallerman.