Hi °C | Lo °C Online advertising has again bucked the trend in the Irish media market recording an estimated 19.6% growth in the 2011 IAB PwC Online Adspend study from IAB Ireland and PwC.
Advertising spend on other media in 2011 has been valued by Nielsen at €897m down 4% year on year on this basis. Online ranks number 3 in total media spend, outperforming radio, outdoor, cinema and magazines.
Online display sees strong growth with advertising on social media sites now accounting for a significant portion of the display market.
Display advertising represents 38% of total online adspend in 2011. Strong growth in display has been tracked in IAB adspend studies in the UK and across Europe as brands embrace online advertising in growing numbers.
Increased display spend across social media sites is one of the key drivers of the growth of this format in the Irish market.
Advertising on social media sites was estimated at €5.8m in 2011 in Ireland.
In these recessionary times search marketing continues to be a trusted direct response tool for advertisers. Paid-search advertising grew by an estimated 16% year on year and now represents 42% of the total 2011 online adspend.
Classified advertising online remained flat in 2011, and as a result, its share of the online advertising market has slipped to 20%.
Telco, FMCG and Entertainment and Media are the top spending categories in Display
Telecommunications is the top performing online display category at 12%, with FMCG and Entertainment and Media in joint second place at 11% respectively. The strong performance of these three categories reflects the pattern in the UK market also where these three categories are in the top 5 of Display adspend categories.
Property/Recruitment and Auto continue to dominate Classified adspend.
The top spending category for classified advertising in 2011 was Property/Recruitment at 36% followed by Auto in second place at 30%.
Key Drivers for growth
Broadband growth – Broadband Household Penetration increased from 58% in 2010 to 65% in 2011 (ComReg Quarterly key data Report - Q4 2011).
Greater time spent online: The average time spent using the internet each week for Irish users is 10 hours 7 minutes (ComReg Quarterly key data Report - Q4 2011). The average Irish Internet user spends 8 hours per week on social media, the heaviest users of social media are 18-24 year olds at 11 hours per week (Behaviour & Attitudes: Bacardi Together Poll, July 2011)
Further growth predicted for Online Adspend
70% of the participants in the IAB PwC Online Adspend study anticipate “growth” or “strong growth” in the next 6 months. Media agencies predictions for 2012 vary from 13% to 20% growth in online adspend.
Smartphone penetration is anticipated to increase to 55% of Internet users in 2012 in the Irish market with smartphones potentially overtaking desktops (Red C: De-Coding Digital Trends Ireland 2011)
Commenting on the study results Eamonn Fallon, Chairman of IAB Ireland, said: “The strong performance of online advertising recorded in our 2011 Adspend Study is good news for the Irish advertising industry. IAB predicts that the growth of online adspend in 2012 is set to break the €150m barrier and see online account for 20% of total adspend”
“Bartley O’Connor, Advisory Consulting, PwC, said: “The strong growth in online advertising for 2011 as highlighted by the study demonstrates the continued level of activity and vibrancy of the online industry in Ireland. All businesses need to consider their digital strategy and how they will capture the opportunities associated with the migration to digital platforms.”
