2. Digital advertising

2010 marks a watershed for digital advertising in Ireland, with the publication of the first study from IAB Ireland/PricewaterhouseCoopers. Digital advertising was worth €97.2 million in 2009, or 10.3% of the Irish advertising market. With advertising spend suffering a 20% fall in 2009, digital is proving to be more resilient than other categories.

Search – predominately Google AdWords – was the dominant format, accounting for 46.2% of online advertising spend, followed by classifieds (27.2%) and display (26.6%). A variety of formats, including email, sponsorships and affiliates, are included in the display category. Property, recruitment and motoring were the biggest spenders, accounting for 45% of digital advertising spend.

Why is this study so important? Many large advertisers, notably global brands, tend not to commit budgets without industry-recognised data. And that’s what they’re getting – the reconstituted IAB Ireland is part of a network of similar industry bodies internationally while Price-waterhouseCoopers uses a tried and tested methodology across all markets.

Equivalent IAB research in other markets has accelerated the growth in online advertising, at the expense of traditional media. More mature markets, such as the UK and the Nordic countries, are reporting online advertising market shares in excess of 20%. Expect the next IAB Ireland study, for the first half of 2010, to start plotting that growth curve.

Sources:

IAB Europe, AdEx 2009 Internet advertising spending in Europe.

IAB Ireland and PwC, Online Adspend Study 2009

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