Digital ad revenue for the first half of 2016 reached an all-time high of $32.7 billion after climbing 19 percent as compared to $27.5 billion in the first half of last year, according to Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) Internet Advertising Revenue report prepared by PwC. This accelerated growth in ad revenue was seen due to an 18 percent increase in second-quarter revenue from $14.3 billion last year to the current $16.9 billion.
Commenting on the all-time high half yearly ad revenues, Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO at IAB says,
These half-year revenues are a testament to the role of digital screens—especially mobile screens—in consumers’ increasingly connected lives. Marketers and brands clearly recognize the innate power of digital to offer immersive experiences and secure real-time engagement.
Let’s dive deeper and break down digital ad revenue into some core segments — mobile, digital video, search, and social media
In addition to overall ad revenue, mobile also made an 89 percent jump to reach $15.5 billion in the first half of 2016. This was the largest year-over-year change for mobile ad revenues, where it also accounted for over 47 percent of all internet ad revenues.
Overall digital video and search revenues continued to account significantly for the digital ad revenue figures of this half. Search still accounted for over 50 percent of all internet revenue on mobile and desktop, whereas peaked to $3.9 billion in this half. Video and search on mobile, hand-held devices also saw an overwhelming triple-digit growth where mobile video increased 178 percent to $1.6 billion, while mobile search increased 105 percent to $7.4 billion.
These numbers demonstrate the growing importance of mobile, showing us the increasing demand for digital video and search, available anytime, anywhere, in the palm of your hand,
says David Silverman, a partner at PwC US.
On the other hand, things seem to have slow down and decline for the desktop side of the business. Search and display ad revenue on desktop was down 12 percent to $8.9 billion and 7 percent to $6.3 billion respectively. Social media ad revenue, however, continues to grow by double digits and accounted for $7 billion in the first half of 2016.
These figures also go on to show the consumers’ appetite for video and social media in general, which provides the marketers with metrics and an opportunity to interact and learn about their customers on the go.
