Digital advertisers spent a total of £6.36bn in the first half of 2018, an increase of 15% year on year, according to new figures.
The data, from the Digital Adspend report from IAB UK and PwC, indicates that search makes up half (52%) of this, increasing on par at 15% to £3.3bn, next is non-video display at £1.33bn (+9%), then video display £967m (40%). Classifieds remains at £726m and other remained at £41m.
Key findings for the half year from January to June 2018 include:
• At half year, the total UK digital advertising market is worth £6.4bn, up 15% y-o-y
• Search is worth £3.3bn, up 15%.
• Display is worth £2.3bn, up 20%, largely driven by video growth.
• The classified market has remained steady at £726m.
Adspend on video formats has once again experienced dramatic year-on-year growth – up 40% to a total of £976m.
Smartphones continue to account for the majority of video spend, driving total display adspend up 20% YoY to £2.3bn.
Meanwhile, spend on search has increased 15% YoY to £3.3bn, more than three times the £958m spent on search through H1 ten years ago; elsewhere, classified advertising remains steady at £726m.
Commenting on the results, the IAB UK’s CEO, Jon Mew, said: “With today’s half year announcement of gross revenue of £6.4bn and with impressive year-on-year growth of 15 percent, it is essential we remain focused not only on building the future for digital advertising but on building a sustainable future.”
IAB UK’s chief digital officer, Tim Elkington, added: “With mobile devices accounting for 75 percent of all UK adults’ time online, it is safe to assume smartphone penetration continues to contribute towards the 15 percent year-on-year growth in digital adspend reported today.”
The half year figures are now reported for combined mobile and desktop adspend; the full year report is due for publication in April 2019.
Analysis
Justin Taylor, UK MD at Teads, said: “Since becoming the largest video ad format, outstream has gone from strength to strength. Investment in display is also encouraging – we’re seeing more innovations transform this static format, embracing phone features and hardware to create better user experiences, which will no doubt accelerate growth further.
The results for video and display highlights the continued resurgence in demand for the brand-safe, quality content that online publishers provide, not just in the UK but globally. For this to continue, we need to make sure quality publishers continue to have access to the best technology and formats that can generate revenue, whilst also providing the best possible user experience.”
Kees de Jong, GM EMEA at Sizmek, said: “It’s no surprise to see online advertising spend soar to over £6bn as smartphone use accelerates and video content continues to offer a direct path to audiences’ gaze through engaging, emotive content. Investments by social media platforms and publishers in video – such as Instagram’s IGTV and more recently Facebook Watch – reflect the consumer’s increasing preference to watch both long and short content on the move. Mobile devices now account for 75% of UK adults’ time online – a figure that advertisers are clearly recognising as an opportunity to build a long-term relationship with the brand. All of this, though, must be underpinned by a digital advertising ecosystem that delivers genuine ROI, is trusted and, above all, is safe.
“To sustain this growth, it’s imperative that advertisers are taking advantage of artificial intelligence to serve adverts in a smarter, safer and more memorable way. By harnessing AI, advertisers can shift through the oceans of data and deliver ads that resonate with the audience; it can process information at a speed that the human brain simply cannot. It can then make real-time decisions on when to reach the right consumer, with the right content, at the right time and on the right platform. In an industry where capturing the audience’s attention is more challenging, a combined approach of data, creative and media – powered by AI – will guarantee that value is added to every single step of a campaign. Feeding this approach into the entire advertising model is the only choice in a world that is becoming digitally and data-led.”