Interactive Advertising Bureau
01 July 2015

Digital advertising spend edges closer to TV-IAB Europe AdEx Benchmark 2014 Full Report reveals 11.8% increase outperforming 3.0% EU GDP growth

The report is a comprehensive perspective of online advertising spend across Europe which is growing ever more essential in the light of European policy formulation, attracting global start-up funding, benchmarking market development trends, the increasingly pan-regional nature of digital advertising investments and the role of Europe’s digital economy in a global context.

IAB Europe, in collaboration with IHS Technology, has today published the AdEx Benchmark 2014 Report1 – the definitive guide to the state of the European online advertising market.

The report is a comprehensive perspective of online advertising spend across Europe which is growing ever more essential in the light of European policy formulation, attracting global start-up funding, benchmarking market development trends, the increasingly pan-regional nature of digital advertising investments and the role of Europe’s digital economy in a global context.

This year the report reveals that in 2014, online advertising recorded double-digit growth for a fifth consecutive year at 11.8% to a market value of €30.7bn, consolidating its position as the second largest media category edging closer to TV. With all markets reporting positive growth, it is not only the developing markets which are leading this increase. Mature markets which have benefited from improvement of digital advertising formats, targeting capabilities and developing data strategies in a cross-device environment are also driving growth demonstrating the industry’s sustainability.

Top 10 Rankings – year-on-year growth

  • Slovenia – 43.1%
  • Ireland – 33.3%
  • Belarus – 32.8%
  • Turkey – 20.8%
  • Hungary – 19.5%
  • Bulgaria – 18.7%
  • Russia 17.3%
  • Greece – 16.3%
  • Austria – 16.0%
  • Belgium – 16.0%

Townsend Feehan, CEO of IAB Europe said, “The ninth edition of the AdEx Benchmark report highlights how new advertising opportunities within programmatic trading, mobile and video advertising, and audience and advertising effectiveness measurement supported by educational programmes have driven growth. As an industry body we strive to work with our members to adopt standards in new business areas help to develop advertiser confidence in new opportunities and at the same time provide transparency and choice to users about how data may be processed.”

Daniel Knapp, Director of Advertising Research at IHS Technology and author of the research, said, "The study shows that even the most mature online advertising markets in Europe sustain double digit growth, clearly indicating the economic vibrancy of the sector. A key driver behind this growth is the proliferation and consolidation of intelligent data infrastructures that serve as a connective tissue between consumers, media and brands.”

IAB Europe members can download the report by logging into the IAB Europe website. Non-members can request the report by contacting: adex@iabeurope.eu

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1About IAB Europe’s AdEx Benchmark Report:

The data has been compiled by IAB Europe based on information provided by the national IAB offices around Europe. It is then processed and analysed by IHS Technology. The report includes market size and value information for the full membership of IAB Europe in 2014 including Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Romania, Russia, Spain, Slovakia, Serbia, Turkey, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The data represents the calendar year 2014 January- December. This is the ninth AdEx Benchmark Report which began in the calendar year 2006.

Display includes PC-based and mobile banners, rich media and video formats.

See further explanatory note on data below.

About IAB Europe

IAB Europe is the voice of digital business and the leading European-level industry association for the digital advertising ecosystem. Its mission is to promote the development of this highly innovative sector by shaping the regulatory environment, investing in research and education, and developing and facilitating the uptake of business standards. Together with its members – companies and national trade associations – IAB Europe represents over 5,500 organisations.

About IHS (www.ihs.com)

IHS (NYSE: IHS) is the leading source of insight, analytics and expertise in critical areas that shape today’s business landscape. Businesses and governments in more than 150 countries around the globe rely on the comprehensive content, expert independent analysis and flexible delivery methods of IHS to make high-impact decisions and develop strategies with speed and confidence. IHS has been in business since 1959 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS is committed to sustainable, profitable growth and employs about 8,800 people in 32 countries around the world.

Explanatory note on IAB Europe/IHS Technology AdEx Benchmark figures

Each national IAB in Europe runs its own annual online advertising spending study and the IAB Europe AdEx Benchmark figures are based on these results. As the methodology of the studies varies country by country, IAB Europe and IHS Technology have defined methodology rules to represent the figures in such a way as to make them realistically comparable. This involves:

  • Readjusting local figures to allow for harmonised representation. Readjustment rates are supplied by groups of local market experts
  • Estimating/harmonising ad spend data for certain formats or segments in certain countries where local IAB studies do not include data or the definition or scope of a format is substantially different
  • from IAB Europe standardised segments
  • Where local data is collected in a currency other than Euros, the average exchange rate in 2014 has been used to convert this to Euros. To provide data for prior year growth rates, the prior year figures have also been re-calculated using a constant exchange rate in order eliminate currency effects.
  • AdEx Benchmark focuses on four normalised segments: ‘Display’ (including mobile Display, rich media and video), ‘classifieds and directories’, ‘paid search’ and ‘other’ (including email but excluding email marketing).
  • Figures quoted are gross figures (i.e. net invoiced value of the media, plus agency commission if any).

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