During 2008 for the first time the spend on Digital was greater than the spend on television in the UK. Digital adspend increased by 38% by far the greatest increase of all media. During 2008 the internet came of age in the USA with the election of Barack Obama as the first Internet President. His rise from a junior senator to President was largely due to his successful use of the internet in an integrated campaign.
Many marketers in South Africa incorrectly view digital, online and mobile advertising as an add on medium as it perceived that access to the internet is relatively small.
This is not so, with around 5 million PC based internet users joined by many millions of mobile phone users with browser capability access to the internet is the norm. But digital marketing is a lot more than the internet, mobile marketing will be a big player, and the use of social media as tool to engage with the new consumer will grow.
We are looking forward starting in 2009 to greatly improved bandwidth brought about by the installation of a number of new undersea cables. This will also have the effect of driving down the cost of connectivity to a fraction of current rates.
South Africa is on the brink of an explosion in the use of online media. The question is do we have the skills base?
This is the question that the AAA Digital Marketing Academy seeks to address.
South Africa is on the brink of an explosion in the use of online media. The question is do we have the skills base? Be a recognised 
Many marketers in South Africa make use of social media for marketing such as blogging, social networks, video sharing, social bookmarking and wikis. 