@ OPA: Faltering Economy Doesn’t Scare Some Web Advertisers, Publishers

Advertisers and publishers on this morning’s State Of Advertising panel, at the Online Publishers Association’s Forum For The Future in London, appear convinced of two things – the economy’s going down the pan, but online advertising will continue to grow…

— Rapt CEO Tom Chavez is still bullish: “The first thing people need to do is decaffeinate some of those expectations (about the economic outlook).”

— Caroline Little, CEO, Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive: “A recession is going to hit any advertising-supported media but, as people move online, we’ll see increases – but not as big as we saw four or five years ago.

— DoubleClick optimisation sales director David McMurtrie: “The digital marketplace as a whole is still going to grow, certainly in Europe, and there’s going to be more a focus on revenue.”

— WPP Digital CEO Mark Read said the advertising giant had “one large US retail client” that has committed more to ad spend in 2008 than 2007 because it’s shifting to online ads.