UK Digital Adspend grows by 15% year-on-year

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UK advertisers spent £6.4bn on digital advertising in the first half of 2018, according to the latest results of the IAB UK and PwC Digital AdSpend report.
 
In the first six months of 2018, there has been year-on-year growth of total digital advertising spend of 15%.
 
The overall display market remains healthy, with H1 year-on-year growth of 20%, taking it to £2.3bn. This growth was driven by Video, which saw the largest year-on-year increase of 40%, taking spend in the first six months to £967m. Non-video display inventory accounted for £1.3bn of spend in the first six months of 2018.
 
Search has grown 15% to £3.3bn, commanding 52% of total digital adspend, whilst classified remained flat at £726m.
 
With the maturation of the market, the half year figures are now reported for combined mobile and desktop adspend and the methodology has been updated accordingly. The 2018 full year report, due for publication in April 2019, will continue to provide a detailed analysis of formats and spends.
 
Commenting on the latest results, IAB UK Chief Digital Officer, Tim Elkington, said:
 
“With mobile devices accounting for 75% of all UK adults’ time online¹, it is safe to assume smartphone penetration continues to contribute towards the 15% year-on-year growth in digital adspend reported today.”
 
IAB UK CEO Jon Mew continued:
 
“Now in its 22nd year, the IAB and PwC Digital Adspend report remains one of our most important projects, with the twice-yearly announcement of results anticipated by the industry. With today’s half year announcement of gross revenue of £6.4bn and with impressive year-on-year growth of 15 percent, it is essential we remain focused not only on building the future for digital advertising but on building a sustainable future.”

Notes to editors

The Half Year Digital Adspend methodology has been revised for 2018 onwards. Submissions from member companies will no longer take place for half year analysis, with the results based on modelled data by PwC. For further information on the methodology and rationale, please read more here.

¹UKOM Digital Marketing Overview June 2018