European online advertising growth hit 4.5% in 2009
New figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe reveal that online advertising growth hit 4.5% last year, significantly less than the 20% growth recorded in 2008.
However, digital was the only advertising format to experience any increase last year, said the IAB Europe.
Search posted a 10.8% increase on a like for like basis, although this was down from 26% growth the previous year. Display advertising was flat and was down in most mature markets: France -6%, UK -5% and Sweden -5%.
Accounting for 76% of the European online ad market in 2009, the big six markets experienced single digit growth: UK 4.6% France 1.7%, Germany 5.2%, Netherlands 1.9%, Spain 7.7% and Italy 6.5%.
Alain Heureux, president and CEO of IAB Europe, said: “In the first recession of the digital advertising era, we have been impressed with the resilience shown by the countries in the IAB Europe network.
“We are at a crossroads for the online advertising market; we have a booming search market supporting traffic and sales and lead generation, and online display is ripe for further growth due in part to the success of video and social media.
“New techniques and business models provide the perfect platform for the next phase of online display growth. We believe the time is perfect for advertisers to move their branding campaigns online, and we have brought the leading players in the European industry together in Barcelona this week to discuss the evolution of this exciting and dynamic sector.”