Nicole LalevaOn 7th July, we brought together industry leaders, market experts, and digital advertising professionals in London and online for the launch of the AdEx Benchmark 2025 Report, celebrating the report’s 20th year as the definitive resource for understanding digital advertising investment across Europe.
The hybrid event unveiled the latest findings from IAB Europe’s flagship study, which brings together data from 30 national markets to provide the industry’s most comprehensive and harmonised view of Europe’s digital advertising landscape.
Watch the AdEx Benchmark 2025 Report Launch event on demand below:
The report reveals that Europe’s digital advertising market grew by 10.5% in 2025, reaching €131 billion, demonstrating continued resilience despite ongoing macroeconomic pressures, geopolitical uncertainty, and varying levels of market maturity across the region.
Opening the event, our Chief Economist, Daniel Knapp, presented the key findings from the report, highlighting the formats and trends driving market growth. Growth was particularly strong across video-led formats, Connected TV (CTV), social video, and Retail Media, reflecting changing consumer behaviour, the rise of commerce-led advertising, and increasing demand for measurable digital environments.
Video investment grew by 19.6% to €34 billion, with video now accounting for more than half of all display investment in Europe for the first time. Social video was the fastest-growing format, increasing by 25.7%, while Retail Media grew by 16.7% to €13.3 billion, reinforcing its growing role in the digital advertising ecosystem.
Following the presentation, Marie-Clare Puffett, Senior Director, Industry Development & Marketing at IAB Europe, moderated a discussion between Daniel Knapp and Ian Whittaker, Founder and Managing Director at Liberty Sky Advisors, exploring the wider market shifts behind the latest AdEx findings. The conversation covered the changing dynamics of digital advertising investment, the continued rise of commerce-driven advertising, the impact of AI, evolving platform and agency models, and the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of the European digital advertising market.
The event also highlighted the varied growth landscape across Europe, with established Western European markets maintaining steady growth, while Nordic and Baltic markets reflected more mixed market conditions.
Commenting on the findings, Daniel Knapp said: “Europe’s digital advertising market added €12.5 billion in 2025, growing 10.5% to reach €131.1 billion. Against a backdrop of sluggish GDP growth, trade policy uncertainty and cautious consumers, this points to a structural shift. Digital advertising is increasingly moving beyond a communications expense to become sales infrastructure, shelf space and shopfront at once.”
He added: “Two milestones in this year’s data show where the market is heading: video now accounts for more than half of all display investment in Europe for the first time, while Retail Media has passed 10% of total digital ad spend. Commerce and content are converging, measurability is deciding where the next euro goes.”
The full AdEx Benchmark 2025 Report provides detailed insights into digital advertising investment across 30 European markets, including market-by-market analysis, format-level growth, and the trends defining the future of the industry.
