Online ad spend grew by 12.2% last year to reach €41.8 billion, with 20 markets registering double-digit growth for the third consecutive years, reports IAB Europe in its latest AdEx Benchmark study. The UK remains Europe’s largest advertising market (€14.2B), accounting for more than one-third of all regional spend.
The UK’s ad spend is almost as big as the next-largest 4 markets, combined: Germany (€5.9B), France (€4.2B), Russia (€2.6B) and Italy (€2.3B).
Meanwhile, the fastest-growing markets last year were Romania (+36.9%), Slovenia (+32.2%) and Ireland (+31.4%).
Comparisons With the US Market
Although the European online ad market is posting solid growth rates, they lag the US, where the IAB recently reported a 21.8% year-over-year increase in spending.
Also, mobile has yet to garner the same level of attention in Europe as it has in the US:
- Mobile ad spend’s growth rate was smaller in Europe (+53%) than in the US (+77%); and
- Mobile accounted for one-third of European display ad spending, whereas it captures 57% of display ad spend in the US.
Some similarities exist, however:
- Search remains a larger format in terms of revenues in both the US and Europe; although
- Display-related spending is growing faster than search.