Dive Brief:
- In its annual internet advertising report released Thursday, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) said ad revenues were up 20% in 2015, reaching $59.6 billion, up from $49.5 billion in 2014.
- The report, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), highlights a greater industry trend: The findings mark the sixth consecutive year running that online ads have seen double-digit, year-over-year growth.
- Mobile advertising reached $20.7 billion, a 66% increase from the year prior. The category represents one-third of the entire ad space today, according to the report.
Dive Insight:
David Silverman, partner at PwC, attributed the growth in online advertising to three factors — mobile, social and programmatic — describing them as "key disruptive trends" that "continue to fuel this exceptional rate of growth."
"Mobile’s impressive upswing is a testament to its increasing importance to marketers," said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of IAB. Behind mobile's surge are display ads, responsible for 55% of mobile ad revenues, while mobile search accounted for 43%.
Rothenberg also said digital video is seeing strong growth, anticipating brands and media buyers will help drive excitement for the medium. Digital video on desktop reached $4.2 billion, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Sherrill Mane, svp of research, analytics and measurement at the IAB, told Adweek the most surprising finding was that CPM (cost-per-thousand) ad rates were on the rise. "Programmatic is clearly not impacting pricing in any downward fashion," Mane said. "If anything, it's boosting."
As mobile phone use continues to surge, advertisers will have to find ways to reach target audiences in the most effective manner. Technologies such as programmatic can help marketers with their ad buys, both on desktop and mobile.
