IAB: UK online ad spend up 10%
UK online advertising spend increased 10% to nearly £2 billion in the first half of 2010, according to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).
Social networking sites such as Facebook contributed to the boost in online display ads in the six months from January, which has seen UK advertisers invest £1.968.6 million, giving the medium a record share of 24.3%.
The return to double-digit growth for online follows the general advertising recovery, with total UK spend up 6.3% to £8.1 million between January and June.
The bi-annual report from the IAB and PwC claims that online display and classified advertising enjoyed significant increases during the six month period. Following a dip last year, online display bounced back with an above-forecast rise of 6.4% to £381 million.
Banner ads still drive the bulk of display ad spend with £272 million, which represents a 72% share. Meanwhile, pre and post-roll video ads increased 82% to £20.7 million – a five-fold growth in two years. Advertising on social media sites also made a significant contribution to display’s growth, accounting for around 13% of all online display advertising.
However, the “recession-friendly” paid-search marketing continued to feature heavily in advertisers’ schedules – up 8.9% to ££1,180.1 million (giving it a 59.9% share).
Despite the recession, classified advertising also put in a strong performance, up 11.4% to £379 million. Performance-based marketing Lead Generation, meanwhile, accounted for £21.6 million (a 1% share).
In terms of top spenders, entertainment and media was the top category, followed by finance, and then FMCG.
Guy Phillipson, chief executive of the IAB, said: “The return to double digit growth in UK online advertising is characterised by increased investment by major brands – particularly in FMCG and entertainment. The effectiveness of social and video ads for classic brand building is reflected in these formats enjoying exponential growth. Add to that the clear accountability of performance marketing online, and we have a channel which now commands a quarter of total UK advertising spend.”
“These figures reflect a sense of positivity in the advertising industry – at a time when many other media in the UK have also showed signs of a healthy recovery,” Anna Bartz, strategy manager at PwC, added.
The key drivers for growth are more people online – the UK’s active user base was up from 36.8 million April 2009 to 40.5 million in April 2010; An older audience – an additional one million people aged 55+ are now online in the UK compared to 2009; Ubiquitous broadband – 92% of the UK online population now has broadband with 69% enjoying speeds of over 2MB; “Social Media fever” – social networks and blogs now account for 23% of all time spent online; and finally, Devices and Connectivity – a mixure of cheap connectivity and a flood of new devices including the iPad.