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UK's internet advertising spend hits record high
(WebFG News) - An ever-widening number of digital activities and an increased amount of time spent online, particularly on smartphones, led to internet advertising expenditure hitting an all-time high of £11.55bn in 2017, according to the UK's Internet Advertising Bureau and PwC's new Digital Adspend study.
Overall, online ad spending increased 14.3% year over year, while the amount spent on smartphone specific advertisements rose 37.4% such that 45% of all internet ad spend went on smartphones - compared to just 9% five years ago.
With British adults spending more time on their smartphones than on computers and tablets combined, this shift saw video ads on smartphones become the fastest-growing online ad format, with advertisers spending £476m more on advertising for handheld devices in 2017 than they had in 2016 - a 69% increase.
"People are spending more time online and doing a wider variety of things, particularly on smartphones, be it learning a new skill, listening to podcasts or following stories on the likes of Snapchat and Instagram," said IAB's chief digital officer Tim Elkington.
"Digital is enhancing people's lives, and the ad community is responding by developing new ad experiences that fit seamlessly into their environment, particularly within mobile and video," he added.
In terms of other formats, social media advertising also enjoyed strong growth, with spend rising 38% to £2.39bn, or one in every five pounds of internet advertising, as 83% of social media ad budgets went to smartphones.
"The fact that digital is growing is a good sign, but there have been some growing pains within the industry, so we're focused on building a sustainable future for advertising through initiatives such as the IAB Gold Standard, which aims to reduce ad fraud, improve the digital ad experience for the consumer and increase brand safety so their ads feature in the right environments," Elkington concluded.