Internet ads accelerate 13.5pc in Ireland – hit €110m

13 Apr 2011

Online advertising in Ireland grew from €97m in 2009 to €110m in 2010, surpassing industry predictions of online adspend reaching €102m last year.

The 2010 IAB PwC Online Adspend Study found all online advertising formats saw increases in adspend, as growing numbers of advertisers embrace the online channel.

Advertising on social media sites and ad networks contributed to the growth of display spend, which has grown from 26.6pc in 2009 to 31pc in 2010.

Online classified advertising and paid-search advertising again showed strong performances representing 25pc and 44pc respectively of total adspend.

The IAB PwC study also identifies the key spenders in the Display and Classified formats.

Vehicle advertising was the top-performing category for 2010 at 21pc. In second place is the recruitment/property sectors, combined at 17pc. This is a reversal of the top categories in the 2009 study when recruitment/property was in the No 1 slot and auto took second position.

The next three top-performing categories were FMCG, telecoms and finance.

Key drivers for online adspend in 2010

Increased broadband connections in Ireland were cited as a key driver for the acceleration in online advertising in Ireland.

“The growth in the Irish online audience and in their time spent consuming online media while other media are experiencing fragmenting audiences underlines the phenomenon of online’s growing share of media budgets,” Bartley O’Connor, advisory consulting, PwC, explained.

The total number of broadband connections (fixed and mobile) grew from 1,861,242 in 2009 to 2,163,642 in 2010, representing a 16.3pc year-on-year increase.

As well as this, people are spending more time online. The average hours spent online each week increased from 13.2 in 2009 to 19.1 hours per week in 2010.

This reflects increased viewing time of online video, streaming TV and movies, as well as the dramatic growth in social media usage.

Media buying agency Carat predict Irish online adspend will grow by 11pc in 2011.

Some 78pc of the participants in the IAB PwC online adspend study anticipated “growth” or “strong growth” in the next six months.

“Online advertising‘s increased sophistication in meeting advertisers’ needs, as well as its measurable benefits, have driven the growth of adspend and attract new advertisers to our channel on a daily basis,” Suzanne McElligott, chief executive of IAB Ireland, explained.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com