Double-Digit Growth for Online Ad Spend in Europe

Alain Heureux, president and CEO of IAB Europe

Alain Heureux, president, and CEO of IAB Europe

New half-yearly figures from IAB Europe have revealed double-digit growth in online ad spend across Europe. The trade body’s CEO and president, Alain Heureux, said that if these growth rates continue, Europe could overtake the US in online ad spend by next summer.

The representative body compiled figures from its branches in the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania.

“These half-yearly figures suggest that a tipping point has been reached,” said Alain Heureux, president, and CEO of IAB Europe. “Every day new companies plan online ad campaigns for the first time, encouraged by reach, return on investment and consumer engagement.

“Those that are already online are allocating a greater proportion of their ad spend to the medium.  And the type of campaigns has evolved – we see great results for branding and targeted marketing using performance-based techniques. We also see fantastic results for cross-media campaigns incorporating TV, radio and outdoor. At this rate of growth, Europe’s online ad industry’s market value could overtake the US by the summer next year.”

The growth rates in those IAB markets that report audited online ad spend for the first six months of 2010 were:

Spain – 20pc

Poland – 18pc

Italy – 15pc

Hungary – 11pc

UK – 10pc

France – 10pc

Bulgaria – 10pc

Romania – 8pc

In Spain, which recorded the highest growth rate, display (28pc) experienced higher growth than search (14pc) for the first time. The boost of the national team’s performance in the World Cup, growth in the automotive sector, and a maturing market all contributed to more ad spend going to online, with part of it coming from TV.

The interim results are audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Spain and the UK using a standard methodology. The figures for France are audited by France Pub. There are currently no audited figures available for Germany, where the growth rate is estimated at 10-15pc. In Slovakia, where a change of methodology makes year-on-year comparisons difficult, growth is estimated at 10pc.