Digital advertising growth fuelled by mobile and video
November 28, 2017
IAB Europe, in collaboration with IHS Markit, has published the AdEx Benchmark H1 2017 Study. The data reveals that online advertising grew 11.5 per cent to €22.2 billion for the first half of 2017 from €20.2 billion in H1 2016.
The Study reveals that nearly all growth in online ad spend was on mobile; mobile display grew by 45.9 per cent as desktop display shrank by 1.4 per cent. Total mobile also outpaced all other formats with a growth rate of 41.4 per cent to a value of €7 billion, compared to search which grew by 12.8 per cent.
Online video grew 3.2x faster than non-video display reaching €1.7 billion in H1 2017 which accounts for 20 per cent of total display spend suggesting that digital is becoming a key channel for brand advertising campaigns. The latest European Programmatic Market Sizing Report published by IAB Europe and IHS Markit demonstrates that video is also a key driver for programmatic ad spend with a 155 per cent growth rate.
Display advertising growth continues to outpace search; display grew by 13.1 per cent and search by 12.8 per cent. Display reached over €8 billion in H1 2017 representing 37 per cent of total online advertising whilst search accounted for 48 per cent. Display advertising continues to experience strong growth in Central and Eastern Europe; in H1 2017 it grew by 16 per cent compared to 12.6 per cent in Western Europe. Indeed, the CEE region helped to drive the overall growth with an increase of 15.9 per cent whilst the more mature markets in Western Europe experienced a growth of 10.9 per cent.
Townsend Feehan, CEO, IAB Europe said, “As consumers increasingly shift to mobile, the AdEx Benchmark H1 2017 Study reveals that marketers are connecting with their audiences via these devices. Marketers are also realising the potential of digital for building brands by increasing investments in online video.”
Rupert Staines, Managing Director International, RhythmOne said: “Digital has played a huge role in innovating the advertising industry. This year has been one of increased confidence and investment, which we can see through the double-digit growth highlighted today. Mobile and video are instrumental in driving this change, a trend we expect to see continue across all media as the industry moves into a programmatic era.”
Guido Fambach, SVP EMEA, comScore said: “Online Video and Mobile have been driving the growth of digital advertising as advertisers and publishers are looking to better engage with their customers in the most frequently used formats and platforms. We continuously work with the industry to ensure that the measurement techniques and insights available enable everyone to stay ahead of the game, matching and surpassing the rapid growth rates in digital.”
Daniel Knapp, Executive Director at IHS Markit said: “A stable macro-economic environment in the Eurozone has fuelled advertising demand, and our data shows that political uncertainty in other countries has not impacted growth to date. The European digital advertising market has been growing in the narrow window of 13.1 per cent and 11.5 per cent every year since 2012, and the most recent data is again in that range. Heightened investment in digital is partly a redistribution of spend from other media, a migration from below-the-line budgets, and new advertisers. But our data also signals that the structure of the digital advertising market is changing as we enter the post-desktop age.”