He says none of the factors that Borrell thought would cut into sales in 2009—including small businesses pulling all their online spending and high churn rates—have been as prevalent as the firm believed. “Phenomenal as it may seem, we’re getting data indicating triple-digit growth for some companies selling interactive advertising,” he says. In a comment on the Screenwerk blog, he adds that “wild enthusiasm over fantastic results” is not driving the new spending. Instead, he attributes it to “market pressure,” noting that small advertisers are receiving lots of sales pitches. Certainly, the growth rate will still be down, considering that the market jumped by 47 percent in 2008. Still, the continued relative strength in the local online ad market likely explains why major internet companies including AOL (NYSE: TWX) and MySpace are doubling down with new local efforts.