UK digital adspend up 12.6pc in H1 to record high of £2.59bn
UK digital ad spend increased by 12.6pc to a record six-month high of £2.59bn in the first half of 2012, according to the latest Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB) advertising expenditure report, conducted by PwC.
Boosted by an increase in video and banners in social media, display advertising across the internet and mobile grew by 10.6pc year-on-year to £590.9m and accounted for 23pc share of digital ad spend.
Digital video advertising increased 43pc to £69.8m and accounted for 12pc of online and mobile display in the first six months of 2012. Banners in social media environments increased 36pc to £134.2m and represented 23pc of display ad spend.
The IAB said paid-for search marketing continues to thrive due to its transparent and measurable nature. Year-on-year, search increased 15.9pc to £1,527m from £1,318m and reprented a 59pc share of digital advertising.
Classifieds grew 7.2pc to £427.1m and accounted for 16pc of digital ad spend in the first half of 2012. Recruitment classifieds were up 11pc to 149.8m.
With smartphone ownership reaching 58pc of the UK population in June 2012, mobile advertising continued its meteoric rise, growing by 132pc to £181.5m. Mobile now accounts for 7pc of all digital ad spend.
Display, video, SMS and MMS advertising on mobiles increased by 91pc to £49.9m while mobile search grew by 152pc to £131.6m and accounted for 72pc of mobile ad spend.
Among media owners who submitted revenue figures to the IAB and PwC, ad spend on tablets is estimated to be at least £2.4m in the first half of 2012.
“Almost 60pc of people in the UK have a smartphone, average UK household broadband speed is now 9MB and social media accounts for one fifth of all internet time,” said Tim Elkington, director of research and strategy at the Internet Advertising Bureau. “As digital technology and services evolve to make consumers’ lives easier, more connected and more fun, it’s no surprise that advertisers are coming to the digital party with bigger budgets, despite the challenging economic times elsewhere.
“However, there’s still plenty of room for growth. Take mobile; 60pc of the UK’s 100 biggest advertisers still don’t have a mobile-optimised website yet consumers spend almost 70pc longer on sites which are. If all advertisers get wise to this, we’re likely to see significant mobile growth for some time yet.”
The consumer goods (FMCG) sector joins the finance sector as the biggest spender on digital display advertising – both accounted for almost 16pc of display ad spend in the first half of 2012. FMCG’s share has almost increased from 9pc in the first half of 2009.
The five top display sectors between January and June 2012 are completed by entertainment and media (13pc), retail (11pc) and travel & transport (10pc).
“For the first time since we started measuring digital ad spend, consumer goods (FMCG) advertisers have joined the long-time leader, financial services at the top of the spending charts,” said Anna Bartz, senior manager, PwC. “Interestingly, spend by FMCG advertisers increased across all digital channels, reflecting advertisers’ recognition of online and mobile as brand building platforms.”