Europe sees online display ad boom, but search spending remains highest
Wednesday, June 15 2011 by Catherine Ferguson
Online display advertising has rocketed ahead of search advertising to become the fastest growing online ad format in Europe, new figures show.
The channel saw an average growth rate of 21.3 per cent across Europe in 2010, according to research by the Internet Advertising Bureau Europe (IAB Europe).
Search advertising, including managed pay per click, also grew in 2010 compared to 2009, but is no longer the fastest growing channel.
This channel enjoyed double digit growth in most regions, averaging at 15.1 per cent.
However, spending on search advertising still eclipses that of any other channel. Nearly half of all advertising spend was dedicated to search (45 per cent), compared to just a third for display (33 per cent).
Overall spending on internet consultants and other elements of the managed emarketing mix grew to an average of 18 per cent of total European advertising spend. However, in the UK and Denmark this proportion was significantly higher, rising to 29 per cent and 28 per cent respectively.
Overall online adspend across Europe reached AC17.7 billion last year, with the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands among the countries spending the most.
Commenting on the growth of display advertising, IHS Screen Digest senior analyst Vincent Letang underlined the importance of innovation across traditional formats for driving continued investment.
"On top of fast-growing new formats, let's not forget that traditional PC-based, banner-style formats have retained their appeal thanks to innovations in design and targeting and a rise in mainstream brands using Display for branding campaigns," he noted.
Many believe that more could be done to capitalise on the business and marketing opportunities presented by the internet in the UK.
Earlier this week, a survey by the Federation of Small Businesses revealed that small business leaders believe sales and marketing training is critical to help them grow, particularly in light of the opportunities presented by social media.
Living Streams "Improving clients' profitability through better use of the internet".
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