THE GROWTH of internet advertising surpassed predictions last year and grew 13.5 per cent to hit €110 million, according to new data from IAB Ireland and PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC).
All online advertising formats experienced growth according to IAB Ireland, the trade body for online advertising, although display ads were particularly strong, increasing share from 26.6 per cent of the total in 2009 to 31 per cent last year.
Suzanne McElligott, chief executive of IAB Ireland, described the growth as “fantastic” but she said there were “real reasons for it”.
These included an increase in the use of broadband, with 2.1 million connections according to the latest ComReg data, and people spending more time online; on average 19.1 hours per week last year according to research firm Red C.
Ms McElligott also cited Red C research that shows people spend an average of 2 hours 49 minutes watching television every day and 2 hours 44 minutes online.
The car industry became the biggest spender last year, accounting for 21 per cent of spend.
Recruitment and property, previously the largest spending category, was 17 per cent of the total.
The next three largest sectors were fast-moving consumer goods, telecommunications and financial services.
According to PwC estimates, the overall Irish entertainment and media market was worth about $4.59 billion (€3.2 billion) in 2010, with internet advertising, internet access and video games the only sectors enjoying strong double-digit growth.
Media buying agency Carat predicts that online ad spending will grow by 11 per cent this year, and Ms McElligott said that 78 per cent of survey respondents were predicting “growth” or “strong growth” over the next six-month period.
The survey is based on responses from 26 publishers as well as contributions from internet advertising agencies.
Google and Facebook, which account for a significant portion of the local market, do not break out revenue figures for individual countries including Ireland.
Their contribution to the €110 million gross figure is estimated by PwC based on information from a respresentative sample of advertising spend from some of their clients.
