IAB: Podcast, CTV and social video ‘outperform’ digital ad market
Digital adspend in the UK grew 11% to £29.6bn last year, ahead of GDP growth of 0.1%, according to the latest IAB and PwC Digital Adspend report.
Podcast advertising, connected TV (CTV) devices and social video recorded the highest increases in spend, with year-on-year growth of 23%, 21% and 20% respectively.
These three “outperformed” the rest of the digital ad market. One factor behind this was they were “more immune” to the upcoming cookie changes compared with other forms of advertising.
Podcasting, in particular, was catching up with spend on streaming audio, with annual spend of £83m versus £92m.
CTV made up 17% of video spend last year, behind mobile advertising’s 74%. Spend in CTV display (excluding video) doubled year on year to £4m in 2023.
DOOH joins study
Meanwhile, digital OOH spend was included in the report for the first time, registering 12% adspend growth in 2023 to £841m.
Spend in digital retail media was up 12% to £283m, with the wealth of retailer first-party data a major attraction for advertisers.
Mobile advertising investment “accelerated” from 4% growth in 2022 to 15% growth to reach £16.7bn last year, following Apple’s privacy changes.
That said, search continued to “underpin” the market, making up half of digital advertising spend last year at £14.7bn.
Adspend in display was up 12% to £11.3bn, driven by video, which made up more than 60% of total display spend for the first time.
Engaged audiences
James Chandler, chief marketing officer at IAB UK, said the latest results show how advertisers are “embracing the diverse array of digital channels on offer”.
He added: “Media that are often referred to as ‘emerging’ are taking their place as increasingly established ways to resonate with engaged audiences — whether that’s via the immersive nature of podcasts or high-impact fame factor of CTV.
“With the impending deprecation of third-party cookies, digital advertising is undergoing a shift and we know that the year ahead will reshape the industry in new ways. In that context, it’s encouraging to see advertisers seeking out engaged environments and increasingly investing in a broad array of online solutions.”
The IAB is forecasting total digital adspend to grow 8.3% to £32bn in 2024.
Digital Adspend 2023 is based on both data submitted to the IAB and PwC and modelled spend data for the digital advertising industry between January and December 2023.
In 2023, the IAB and PwC changed the definition of CTV from a channel to a device, allowing all video and non-video (comprising standard and other display formats) CTV ads to be included in revenue figures.
Meanwhile, video measurement has been reclassified. Instead of instream and outstream, adspend in video now comprises broadcast VOD, social video and online video (which encompasses outstream, publisher and advertising-supported VOD).