20% Of Ad Budgets Spent On Native Advertising

According to the latest Internet Advertising Bureau UK Digital Ad Spend report, as conducted by PwC, one fifth of digital display budgets was spent on native content in the first two quarters of 2014, Marketing Week reports. The total spent on native advertising actually reached a total of £216 million according to the survey, with this year being the first time the medium has been included in the bi-annual report.

Mobile display also accounted for a large proportion of digital display budgets, with a worth of £315.7 million and totaling 31% of budgets – this indicates a rise of 116% year-on-year. This significant increase in the relevance of mobile display can also be attributed to more focus on native content, as it transforms the way brands use mobile, the article notes.

Companies are becoming more experimental with how branded content appears in newsfeeds – particularly in the newsfeeds of people on the move. Consumer goods businesses spent 23% of their budgets on mobile display, followed by entertainment companies and technology brands, spending 21% and 12% respectively.

Mobile video spending rose by 196% year-on-year to reach a value of £63.9 million in the first six months of 2014 – making it the fastest growing ad format of the period. FMCG businesses have been particularly interested in mobile display recently, with high profile brands such as Mondelez and Heineken looking to run more native mobile ad trials in a transition away from traditional banner ads.

The chief strategy office at the IAB, Tim Elkington, noted that watching videos on mobile is becoming an “increasingly social activity”, therefore future marketing strategies in relation to mobile and native advertising will need to take this into account.