Digital ad spend in Ireland grew by 27 per cent last year, figures released by IAB Ireland as part of the PwC Online Adspend Study shows. Total digital ad spend was €830m in 2021. Online display advertising grew by 40 per cent to €498m, with social and video cited as the main drivers. Spend on display excluding social grew by 28 per cent to €112m.
IAB Ireland said search advertising improved by ten points to €288m. Classified ads grew by 15 per cent to €43m, retaining a five share of total online spend. Digital spend is predicted to grow by 15 per cent on average this year. The reports says that more Irish people spent time online and relied on digital services for both work and leisure last year than ever before.
CSO reported that 70 per cent of internet users were active on social networks and 84 per cent used instant messaging platforms including WhatsApp and Messenger. Suzanne McElligott, chief executive, IAB Ireland, said e-commerce also saw a dramatic take off last year with CSO reporting 80 per cent of internet users buying products and services online.
Resilience
David Monaghan (pictured), chairman, IAB Ireland board and head of commercial News UK and Ireland, said the results show the resilience of Irish advertising with positive growth across formats. Monaghan said that one area to watch is digital audio. With 71 per cent of Irish adults now listening every week, digital audio is set for further growth in 2022.
The IAB has worked with PwC since 1997 to survey the value of online ad spend. Google, Meta (including Instagram), Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest and LinkedIn do not publish their earnings from Irish advertisers. Instead, PwC and IAB estimate their revenues from Irish advertisers and agencies by extrapolating from spend data provided by some clients.
