UK online advertisers are moving from traditional leaderboard banners to Mid Page Units (MPUs) and other new formats, according to new research from Yahoo!’s ad exchange company, Right Media.
The research found that MPU’s were the most popular online ad format in the UK during the first half of 2008.
The figures reveal that the trade in leaderboards as a percentage share of the total trades on the Exchange in the UK dropped from 34.1% in January to 24.8% in June, a continuation of a trend that was seen during 2007.
MPUs made up 34.1% of all UK ad formats being traded in January, with a small drop to 32.6% by June.
At the start of October, the Internet Advertising Bureau revealed that UK internet advertising expenditure grew to £1.68 million in the first half of 2008, a 21% year-on-year like-for-like increase (see Internet Advertising Spend Up 21%).
Leaderboards were the most popular format globally, according to Right Media, accounting for 32% of all ad formats traded, although they were down 3% since January.
Global trading of MPUs remained constant over the past six months, making up 22.3% of trades worldwide in January and 22.73% in June.
By June, 180 x 150 rectangles represented 8% of all ad formats traded globally.
Denise Colella, VP – International at Right Media, said: “Obviously popularity reflects what is being brought onto the Exchange and the emergence of 160 x 25 in the UK is driven by the fact this format is now more widely available.
“However, there does seem to be a shift in format popularity and the trading of MPUs in the UK and the growth in 180 x 150 worldwide would seem to suggest the increasing popularity of formats that work well for Rich Media.”
Recent figures from Nielsen revealed that UK online ad display spend was down 5.28% for Q2 2008 (see Internet Advertising Spend Up 21%).
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