UK digital advertising spending will reach £6.1 billion (over $9.68 billion) this year, eMarketer estimates, and rise another 37.7% between 2013 and 2017, when it will tally £8.4 billion (around $13.33 billion). By 2016, digital ad investments will account for more than half of total media ad spending in the UK for the first time.
In 2013, the explosion in UK search advertising looks to have subsided, with growth for the segment beginning to cool. Display advertising is now increasing at a faster pace. Publisher sites with large display space inventoriessuch as news providers, but also Google sites (particularly YouTube), Facebook and Yahoo!, among othersare offering media buyers a compelling display advertising prospect in both desktop and mobile channels. These publishers have made themselves indispensable to their usersas essential to digital denizens` online activities as Google`s search engine has been.
Thanks to the wide proliferation of smartphones and tablets, UK consumers are now reachable by digital advertising almost all the time. As a result, the distinction between mobile and nonmobile ad inventory is beginning to disappear. eMarketer expects mobile`s share of UK digital ad spending to increase sharply over the next four years. Companies like Facebook have positioned themselves strongly to take advantage of marketers` increased focus on mobile, and the remainder of the UK`s advertising chain is now not far behind.
KEY QUESTIONS:
What is driving UK digital advertising spending?
Why is video advertising proving so popular?
How are agencies and clients adapting to mobile advertising?
