Buoyed by strong growth in Latin America and the Middle East/Africa, Internet ad spending rose 12% in the first quarter compared to Q1 2011, according to Nielsen.
In a period in which overall ad spending rose 3.1%, every media sector was up except for magazines, which fell 1.4%. Even newspapers -- a segment known for downsizing and contraction -- rose 3.1%. Perhaps the biggest surprise was radio, which was up a robust 7.9%. A Nielsen rep said that figure doesn't include Internet-based radio outlets like iHeartRadio and Pandora.
As the chart below shows, most of the strongest growth occurred in Latin America and the Middle East/Africa. Comparatively, growth in more developed regions like North America and Europe was much more restrained.
Nielsen didn't break out online ad spending for North America, but IAB set the figure for U.S. online ad spending at $8.4 billion in the first quarter, a 15% jump over Q1 2011.