Europe’s online ad market continues to grow

Growth slows to 4.5% as internet share of total ad market in Europe nears 20%.

Wednesday, 2 June 2010

The Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe (www.iabeurope.eu) has just released the findings of its annual advertising expenditure survey for the year ending December 2009. Compiled by Screen Digest, the research covers 23 markets ranging from the mature markets of the Nordics and Western Europe to the emerging markets in Eastern and Southern Europe. Russia, Bulgaria, Switzerland and Slovakia are included in the report for the first time.



Whilst last year’s online advertising growth rate of 4.5% shows a significant slow down compared to previous reported increases of 20% in 2008 and 40% in 2007, digital was the only advertising format to experience any increase last year. Internet advertising spending continued to grow in almost all of the 23 markets measured and had a combined value of 14.7bn euros. The US market totalled 16.3bn euros for the same period.

Search advertising resilient, display under pressure

Search continued to grow, posting a 10.8% increase on a like-for-like basis, although this was down from 26% growth the previous year. Display advertising was flat (+0.3%) and was down in most mature markets: France -6%, UK -5% and Sweden -5%. According to Vincent Létang, Senior Analyst at Screen Digest who compile the AdEx Report for IAB Europe: “Search outperformed display last year as advertisers focused on achieving return on investment through direct response formats at the expense of brand advertising. In addition, some advertisers felt online brand advertising was not yet delivering the enhanced measurement standards that they needed to justify further investment in digital campaigns, particularly given the recession. The good news for display is that the countries in the IAB Europe network are already reporting a recovery in online display in the first quarter of 2010.”

Market shares, market sizes

Accounting for 76% of the European online ad market in 2009, the big six markets experienced single digit growth: UK +4.6% France +1.7%, Germany +5.2%, Netherlands +1.9%, Spain +7.7% and Italy +6.5%. Growth rates were higher in Italy and Spain where online advertising started from a lower base. The growth in Spain was even more impressive when compared to the collapse of the traditional advertising market which declined -23%. Only four markets posted double-digit growth in 2009; Poland, Turkey, Austria and Greece - all starting from a low base.

Despite the slow down, online’s share of overall ad spend continued to increase significantly across Europe. The UK has the highest market share at 30%, followed by the Nordic markets at between 20% - 25% and France and Germany close to the European average of 18-19%.


Alain Heureux, President and CEO of IAB Europe concludes, “In the first recession of the digital advertising era, we have been impressed with the resilience shown by the countries in the IAB Europe network. We are at a crossroads for the online advertising market; we have a booming search market supporting traffic and sales and lead generation, and online display is ripe for further growth due in part to the success of video and social media. New techniques and business models provide the perfect platform for the next phase of online display growth.

"We believe the time is perfect for advertisers to move their branding campaigns online, and we have brought the leading players in the European industry together in Barcelona this week to discuss the evolution of this exciting and dynamic sector.”