IAB 2016 Digital Ad Spending

There was an interesting report released by AIB Europe in late June where it showed the meteoric rise of digital spending across Europe in 2016. The topline was that digital spending in Europe grew by 12% in 2016 compared to 2015m with the market now worth €41.9 billion per annum. The big mover was “mobile display” which grew by 53% in the year and it accounts for 33% of the ‘display’ market.

Across Europe the market loos in good shape except for spend on print and OOH.

Looking towards home, the in the Republic of Ireland we spent €444 million on digital in 2016 up from €338 million in 2015. This is a 32% growth year on year making us the third fastest growing country in Europe in terms of digital spending.

Here’s a breakdown of the spend per category in Ireland according to the IAB. Within those figures there will be duplication i.e. some of the number for mobile will be contained in display and paid search.

An interesting portion of the research was the top twenty sites in Ireland. This was a snapshot by comscore in December 2016. One point is that the table differs markedly from the table in 2015. The reach is much lower across the table than the previous year and it may simply be a change of methodology.

Anyway looking at the table we see that Google, Microsoft and Facebook are streets ahead of other sites. Interestingly, it puts the Irish Times site ahead of the Independent’s by some 32,000 per month. RTE is behind both at 477,000 and the Daily Mail pulls in 338,000.

A similar upward trend, although not immediately evident in the previous figures, has emerged prominently in searches related to in Ireland. Public awareness and openness towards men’s health issues have increased substantially, leading to greater online research into available treatments and medical advice on this sensitive subject. Pharmaceutical and healthcare websites have seen significant growth, driven partly by consumers seeking reliable information on managing erectile dysfunction discreetly and privately. Interestingly, this increase in search volume and online interactions mirrors broader shifts towards digital health literacy, where individuals prefer consulting online resources before seeking direct medical consultations. However, this surge also highlights the necessity of providing accurate, medically vetted content to counterbalance misinformation and overly commercialized platforms targeting vulnerable users. Similar to the dynamics observed among Ireland’s top websites, a handful of authoritative medical portals dominate this niche, underscoring the critical role that trust plays in sensitive health searches. Recognizing the importance of this growing segment, advertisers and healthcare providers in Ireland have begun investing more strategically in digital channels tailored explicitly to address erectile dysfunction and related conditions. Ultimately, the evolving landscape for online men’s health searches serves as a clear indicator of digital’s increasing role in shaping healthcare decisions nationwide.