UK Digital Advertising Hits Six Month High of £3bn on Mobile Phone Boost

UK digital advertising spend hit a six month high of £3bn as mobile videos saw an impressive boost, according to research by the Internet Advertising Bureau.

The IBA Digital Adspend report, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, revealed that advertising on the internet and mobile phones increased by 17.5% to £3.04bn ($4.87bn, €3.59bn) in the first half of 2013, up from £2.61bn in the first half of 2012.

Mobile advertising grew like-for-like by 127% to £429.2m in the first half of 2013, up from £188.1m in the first half of 2012, according to the report.

Mobile now accounts for 14.1% of all digital advertising spend - nearly double the 7.2% for the same period in 2012.

Mobile video advertising grew sharply as 4G networks began to roll out.

The media saw a 1,260% jump from £1.7m in the first half of 2012, to £23.0m in the first half of 2013, according to the IAB.

"Nothing illustrates the internet as an entertainment platform better than the fact that over one in five minutes online is accounted for by entertainment, and that advertisers spent almost 1,300% more on mobile video than a year ago," said Tim Elkington, director of research and strategy at the IAB.

Consumer Goods

Consumer goods became the biggest spender on mobile display for the first time, almost doubling its share in a year - from 14.5% to 26.8% in the first half of 2013, according to the IAB.

The category overtook the previously most popular medium, entertainment and media, whose share stayed at 22.9%.

The sector, driven by mobile display and video, extended its dominance over the finance sector as the biggest spender on digital display advertising.

Consumer goods accounted for 18.2% in the first half of 2013, compared to 15.8% a year earlier.

But finance's share dropped from 15.8% to 13.7%, according to the report.

Anna Bartz, a senior manager at PwC, explained: "Mobile has moved on from being a communications or entertainment device to a bona fide retail one. It's an interesting contrast to how dominant entertainment has become on 'fixed' devices such as computers and laptops."