DIGITAL ADVERTISING IS GROWING. DRIVEN BY VIDEO ON CTV, SOCIAL MEDIA AND RETAIL

Two-thirds of advertising investment in Europe is directed towards digital advertising. Most European countries saw double-digit growth in digital advertising spending last year, according to a new report by IAB Europe.

The European digital advertising market achieved double-digit growth in 2024, specifically 16%, and exceeded €118.9 billion for the first time. This is according to the regular annual report AdEx Benchmark 2024 by IAB Europe, which was published recently. The fastest growing segments were video (+24.5%), mainly thanks to advertising formats such as connected TV (CTV), social media (+24%) and retail media (+22%). Advertising in digital audio (+18%) remained strong, and programmatic online advertising saw a revival with 18% growth.

Two-thirds of all advertising spending in Europe now goes to digital channels (67.2%), with 21 out of 30 markets reporting double-digit growth in 2024.

A more cautious outlook for 2025

However, the outlook for this year is more cautious. "Although 2024 was another strong year, initial forecasts for 2025 point to a return of volatility and a possible further round of fluctuations. Due to macroeconomic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions, including the impact of new EU tariffs, advertisers are expected to take a more cautious approach and focus on measurable results and performance rather than broad experimentation," said IAB Chief Economist Daniel Knapp.

The size of the European digital advertising market currently represents half of the total size of the US market.

In terms of the share of individual channels, search advertising continues to account for the largest percentage (36%), followed by display (including video and audio) with 25.5% and social media advertising (23.1%).

Video drives advertising in subscription packages

Video accounted for more than 50% of display advertising in nine markets last year, underscoring its growing role. According to IAB Europe, video accounted for 31% of display advertising in the Czech market. The growth of video in European digital campaigns is mainly driven by formats on smart screens (CTV). The highest year-on-year growth was recorded by SVOD (subscription-based video) and BVOD (video placed in TV broadcasters' video offerings) formats.





Podcasts continue to drive the growth of digital audio, accounting for more than 40% of total investment in digital audio last year, according to IAB Europe data. At the same time, the share of digital audio in advertising investment already exceeds the share of the radio advertising market in some European countries (this does not apply to the Czech Republic).

Overall, the report highlights the key role played by the combination of video and social media, which accounts for more than half (53%) of total investment in digital advertising.

You can read the full report here.

Source: mediaguru.cz