Ireland’s digital advertising spend jumped by eight per cent last year with total investment exceeding €1 billion for the first time, figures released by IAB Ireland and compiled by IRM (Institute of Advertising and Media Statistics) indicates. The expenditure report showed that total digital advertising investment in Ireland reached €1.146bn in 2025.
Over the past five years, the market has grown from €655 million in 2020, averaging annual growth of 12 per cent. Display advertising remains the lead category, accounting for 64 per cent of all digital spend, with revenues of €735 million. Search generated €345m, representing a third of the market and growing by four points, while classifieds came to €66m.
Social dominated the display sector, with a 78 per cent. Social revenues, including social video, were up by 12 per cent to €576m. Social video accounted for €405m, or 70 per cent of all social advertising. The study showed that non-social video was among the fastest-growing segments of the market, rising by 22 per cent to €45m last year.
IAB Ireland reports that retail remained the top non-social display category in 2025, followed by FMCG, finance and entertainment and media
Connected TV (CTV) advertising was the strongest-performing sub-category, up by a third year-on-year to €26m, bypassing traditional video stream formats. Digital audio spend also moved in the right direction, with revenues up by 20 per cent to €23m, reflecting growing advertiser interest in podcasts, streaming audio and digital radio.
Section takeovers and tenancy formats were up by seven per cent to €11m. Programmatic trading accounted for 41 per cent of display advertising excluding social media. Standard display advertising was down by seven points to €74m, while native advertising saw a drop of 12 per cent to €6m. The report showed that 95 per cent of respondents now use AI.
Pictured is Suzanne McElligott, CEO, IAB Ireland
