So where is advertising going? As we the consumer start using the Internet for everything from shopping for clothes to buying a new home, a clear shift in advertising dollars can be seen from print publications to the Internet. This small ripple has slowly built over the years and is now making waves.

Advertisers are pulling money out of print publications and searching for effective alternatives. One of the fastest growing and most cost effective forms of advertising is the Internet. Richard A. Smith, president of Realogy Corp., the largest residential real estate broker in the U.S., said the portion of his Coldwell Banker and Century 21 branding budget devoted to newspapers will shrink by as much as two-thirds next year compared to 2006 (Tim Mullaney, Bloomberg July 18, 2007). This is just one example of advertising dollars shifting with the market.

Though print advertising will likely never entirely go away, the emergence and popularity of the Internet has lead to a large decline in its effectiveness. Visit any website and you will find an advertisement for some sort of product or service and as the next generation of consumers develops, this trend will continue to increase.

A major indication that the advertising market is changing is that the circulations of local newspapers are decreasing. An example of this can be found by looking at the daily circulation of The Arizona Republic which has declined 3.7% to 382,414; the circulation of the Sunday edition has also decreased 4.6% to 480,585. Another example of shifting advertising budgets from earlier this year is that on June 20th, Tribune newspapers reported that “Home-sale advertisements fell 30% in May". Finally, the New York Times stated that throughout the month of May real estate advertising fell 16%. David Hiller July 13, 2007

So if you are thinking about buying something new the best holiday deals might be online as opposed to the paper.