H1 2016 UK Digital Ad Spend Results – Mobile Dominates Display Investment

We’ve been hearing it for the better part of a decade: “Will this be the year of Mobile”? It’s a question that has often caused mobile marketing industry insiders to chuckle or, in some cases, instantly roll their eyes because mobile has been very much present and gradually dominating most of our lives for some time now. However, despite our smartphones overtaking desktop in the UK some time ago, both in terms of sales and media consumption, the lingering doubt amongst some has largely been driven by one key factor: ad spend. Despite the overwhelming amount of time being spent on these devices, the ad investment has been somewhat slow to follow…until now.

IAB UK, in partnership with PwC, has released their H1 2016 UK Digital Ad Spend results this week and mobile display investment has surpassed desktop/PC for the first time ever. In addition to mobile grabbing the headlines, the key highlights of the report are:

  • Overall 16.4% rise in digital spend is highest first half growth rate for two years
  • Mobile spend up 56.1%
  • Video the fastest growing digital ad format, up 67%

However, whist it is reassuring that mobile ad investment is finally more in line with user usage and media consumption trends, we must continue to work harder to ensure that experiences are built and tailored for these devices, rather than just simply repurposed. Only when leveraging mobile’s native capabilities and designing ads that are truly adapted to the medium, will mobile’s full creative potential be unlocked as a marketing platform.

More information from the IAB H1 Digital Ad Spend report can be found here.

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OMD UK

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