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The theme for IAB Ireland’s Digital Advertising Conference, on Tuesday 14th May 2024, was Together is Better.
With the shift towards privacy first advertising, embracing AI Opportunities, leveraging first party data, implementing sustainability, post 3rd party cookie deprecation – this increasingly complex digital ad ecosystem means amplifying your digital ad partnerships is more important than ever.
The conference took place from 9am – 1pm, on Tuesday 14th May, 2024 at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dublin 8.
Please find Decks from the morning below:
Highlights of IAB Ireland PWC Online Adspend Study for 2023
Suzanne McElligott, CEO, IAB Ireland.
Suzanne also referenced two other pieces of IAB Ireland Research:
A study of Attention on local publisher sites, conducted by Lumen
Listen Up Ireland – Digital Audio Research, conducted by Red C Research
Resources: Third party cookie deprecation – the time for action is now!
Let’s collaborate to accelerate the transition to ad net zero
Laura Wade, Global Head of Sustainability Strategy, EssenceMediacom
‘Since the 1950’s human activity has accelerated our demands on the planet and its natural resources – as demonstrated by what is called ‘ The Great Acceleration’ by scientists . We now are in the decisive decade to take action, we need a hard break on emissions in the next couple of years – in the same decade we are seeing the digital and data industries set to growth exponentially. Our use of data and digital has a physical impact on the world and is contributing to energy consumption. We have to act responsibility and as the global citizens we are.
At WPP/GroupM, we have Science Based commitments and we are the first and only holding group to include the Media we buy on behalf of our clients in our carbon footprint. Media makes up 55% of our scope3 footprint. We have committed to an 84% reduction by 2025 for our scope1 and 2 and a 50% reduction for Scope 3. Having commitments are great, and vital, however we are now focussed on our transition plan. Our Transition Plan has 3 key reduction levers 1. Media Supply Chain optimisation, 2. Partner engagement and 3. Media vendor selection. We need to work collaboratively with the entire media ecosystem to be able to effectively use these levers to drive our decarbonisation targets.
We have started this journey and in my deck I have shared some examples under each pillar – but we need the industry to come with us. If one fails we all fail. We need to move our mindset from seeing sustainability as a necessary chore to one that is about transformation and innovation for future fit business. Sustainability is no longer about should we do it, it’s about how we do it and how we do it together.’
Privacy Sandbox – the time to prepare for Third-Party Cookie Deprecation is now
Gaby Jenkins, Partner Manager, Privacy Sandbox Partnerships – Google
Gaby’s deck is available to view below, and Gaby also advises all to check out and keep up to date on Privacy Sandbox progress here. Other IAB Resources to help you prepare for 3PCD are available to view here.
On July 22nd, 2024 Chrome announced A new path for Privacy Sandbox on the web. We hosted a webinar on the topic on Friday 30th August, with Gaby Jenkins, Privacy Sandbox, Ian Maxwell, Converge Digital, Liosín Crawley, Havas Media and David Murphy, The Irish Times.
The overall message from our panelists was that the work on removing the reliance on cookies continues, with consumers privacy and advertising effectiveness at the core.
Gaby shared two useful links with test results from the buy and sell side Google Ads teams:
We will update our members as further information becomes available.
The below update was posted in March 2024 – the recommendations are still relevant to a low cookie ecosytem:
The phasing out of third party cookies has begun and complete deprecation is now fast approaching. The Irish digital ad industry cannot put off addressing the significant impact of deprecation and identifying solutions.
Publishers, agencies and advertisers across the larger EU markets are actively testing, sharing feedback with Privacy Sandbox. IAB Ireland’s recent webinar with Tony Katsur, CEO IAB Tech Lab and Gaby Jenkins, Partner Manager, Privacy Sandbox Partnerships focused on Tech Lab’s analysis of Privacy Sandbox as well as Sandbox resources to assist companies in their preparation for deprecation.
There is no silver bullet or one catch all solution so it is essential that companies can answer the following questions:
1. What data partners are collecting directly/indirectly? 2. How it is collected?- Identify the on device technologies that are being used by partners. 3. What data is exchanged between advertiser and partner and can audiences be matched/linked using 2 sets of data? 4. What lawful basis is the partner relying on for personal data processing? 5. How is consent obtained and who is responsible for obtaining it?
It is also essential that you familiarise yourselves with the 3 potential solutions:
1. Linked audiences – uses user-provided data like email address or name or address to link publisher and advertiser audiences – this replicates cookie-like functionality – universal or unified ID solutions. 2. Unlinked audiences – no data is exchanged between publishers, advertisers or at any part in the process – Contextual targeting. 3. Browser or operating system linked audiences – ability to target and measure audiences on 1:many rather than 1:1 basis – grouped and anonymised.
IAB Ireland like all the IAB chapters will continue to share relevant Privacy Sandbox updates and testing learnings.
Useful Resources:
About Privacy Sandbox: Check out this very useful overview from IAB Europe – explaining the various terminology and sharing links for testing and feedback.
This opinion piece by James Chandler, Chief Marketing Officer, IAB UK is a useful call to action to share with your teams and business leaders to ensure that your company embraces this challenge and has an actionable deprecation strategy in place.
A Google Privacy Sandbox Resource for understanding third party cookie dependencies which may include advertising, but other use cases as well such as embedding videos, logging in to name a few, and helping sites to prepare for third party cookie deprecation can be found here. This resource can be used to identify what third party cookies are being set, and by whom, and for what purpose. The instructions in this resource outline how to test sites to understand how critical user journeys might be impacted by third party cookie deprecation.
15 February 2024 – The Privacy Sandbox team issued a response to the IAB Tech Lab Report. A summary of the Privacy Sandbox response is available here. The full 35-page response is here.
Total digital ad spend was €958m in 2023, reflecting a growth of 11% from 2022.
Digital display advertising grew by 15% to €589m in 2023, with Video and Digital Audio and Paid Social cited as the primary drivers.
Search advertising grew by 4% to €314m.
Classified advertising grew by 16% to €55m, with a 6% share of total digital adspend.
IAB Ireland adspend participants predict digital adspend growth in 2024 of 8% on average.
Digital advertising spend in the Irish market for 2023 reached €958m according to the latest results of the IAB PwC Online Adspend report, reflecting a growth rate of 11% year-on-year (YoY).
Display advertising which includes Paid Social grew by 15% to €589m in 2023, which was driven by the growth in Video at 24% YoY and Digital Audio at 16%. Paid Social grew by 19% to €446m in 2023. The Display format remains the dominant format in the Irish market holding a share of 61% of the total digital advertising market.
Search advertising grew by 4% YoY in 2023 with an adspend of €314m and a share of 33% of the total Irish digital advertising market.
2023 Market Conditions
The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index was 62.4 in December 2023. This is the first year on year improvement in the December sentiment survey results since 2017 illustrating a growth in consumer confidence.
Source: The Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index, in partnership with Core Research
Approximately 80% of people used the internet for shopping, banking, or booking / ordering services online in 2023.
Source: CSO Household Consumer Behaviour 2023
Commenting on the report results Suzanne McElligott, CEO, IAB Ireland, said, “Following a lower growth rate of 4% in 2022 which reflected the challenging local and global economy of that year, it is very positive to see double digit growth of 11% YoY for the Irish digital advertising market in 2023. The outlook for 2024 is also positive with adspend participants predicting 8% growth for this year. Participants also highlighted the challenge of increased regulation and cookie deprecation as a concern for the industry in the year ahead. IAB Ireland is focused on helping our members prepare for these challenges through our webinars, conferences and online resources.” she added.
Finn O’Loughlin, Strategy Consulting Director, PwC, added: “Digital adspend reached a high of €958m in 2023. Display advertising represented the lion’s share of the total advertising spend at 61% and a growth rate of 15% YoY to €589m. Search advertising had more modest growth of 4% in 2023 with an adspend of €314m reflecting a more mature phase in its development, and Classified advertising enjoyed strong growth of 16% YoY with an adspend of €55m.”
Karen Preston, Chair of IAB Ireland’s Board and Chief Commercial Officer, Mediahuis said, “Video continues to be a dynamic driver of digital advertising in 2023 with 24% growth YoY. This video growth breaks down into 25% growth in adspend for social video and 20% for broadcaster/publisher video. It is not surprising that adspend participants predict that video will continue to be a top growth driver for adspend in 2024”.
For further information please contact: Maeve O’Meara, Marketing Manager, IAB Ireland, Tel: 086 852 2291 and Email: maeve@iabireland.ie
Important notes to editors:
The IAB has been working with PwC since 1997 to survey the value of Online Adspend in Europe and North America.
21 leading publishers and 2 adnetworks/sales houses and 8 media buying ad agencies participated in the study, many of whom represent multiple websites. Other participants include advertising agencies.
Participating publishers were selected on the basis of traffic data and market knowledge. We estimate that our study accounts for 90% of online adspend in Ireland. Reported figures are not adjusted to account for other organisations that have been included. Participation is on a voluntary basis.
Total advertising revenue is reported on a gross basis (i.e. including commission). Figures and percentages are rounded. In some area advertising formats are not mutually exclusive – there is some overlap across specific formats.
Adspend revenue is drawn up on the basis of actual figures provided by the study participants on a confidential basis to PwC. The study results are prepared by PwC based on the figures provided by participants, which have not been audited by PwC.
Google, Meta (including Instagram), Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn do not submit data to the IAB PwC Adspend study. Adspend for these companies is calculated based on publicly available data as well as consultation with Agencies and Industry representatives.
RTÉ does not submit data to the IAB PwC Adspend Study. However, RTÉ’s digital adspend is deduced through a Freedom of Information request as well as discussions with Ireland’s leading advertising agencies.
Programmatic advertising is the buying and selling of online advertising inventory through automated methods rather than human actions. This includes but is not limited to Real-Time Bidding (RTB).
About IAB Ireland
IAB Ireland (www.iabireland.ie) is the trade association for the Irish online advertising industry. As a not-for-profit organisation IAB Ireland works with members to ensure marketers can identify the best role for online in building their brands. IAB Ireland is licensed by IAB US and is a member of the IAB Europe network. The IAB network shares three core objectives, namely to; prove, promote and protect the online advertising industry. These objectives are fulfilled through the dissemination of authoritative research, the organisation of educational events and by promoting industry-wide best practice.
About PwC
At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 158 countries with over 250,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.
PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.
Digital Mastery Workshop – Unlock next-level marketing strategies for your retail business
Brought to you by IAB Ireland in partnership with Retail Ireland Skillnet
Where? Virtual Workshops hosted on Zoom When? Wednesday 1st May, 2024
These workshops have been designed specifically with the Retail Industry in mind. Our speakers, who are all practitioners in the digital advertising sector, provided an overview of the latest digital opportunities and innovations and their role in attracting and retaining customers.
Speakers – Recordings & Decks plus bonus materials:
Seán Begley, Account Manager, Google
Understanding Customers and driving your business with GA4
Seán shared the latest on using Google Analytics (GA4) to understand how customers find and engage with your business in the retail sector.
You can download Seán’s decks here and here – also the GA4 playbook is available to download here. And you can watch videos on this topic here.
Sophie Morgan-Short, Paid Social Director, Jellyfish
Automating your marketing efforts with AI
Sophie discussed the importance of data and AI tools in marketing decision-making for retailers. She shared the benefits of using AI for e-commerce, and outlined the steps for retailers to get started.
You can download Sophie’s deck here, and view recording below.
Emily Flanagan, Account Manager, SMB UKI, TikTok
Working with Content Creators to grow Sales
Katie shared practical tips and inspirational content on how to best work with influencers and best practice on content creation to drive sales.
Andy Weldon, Senior Account Manager – eCommerce, Me
Seamless Social Commerce
Andy shared how Retailers can use social networks to help their customers explore and buy products seamlessly. He shared some Meta product updates and how you can best drive sales, and interact with your customers via your Social channels.
Latest research reveals that just under 8 in 10 adults (18+) in Ireland listen to Digital Audio in an average week
IAB Ireland’s Digital Audio Council commissioned Red C Research to conduct a fifth wave of Listen Up Ireland – a deep-dive into Digital Audio in Ireland.
The research, which has tracked Digital Audio since 2019, specifically looked at: the Incidence & demographics of using Digital Audio, the channels used, time spent listening, devices used, reasons to engage with and attitudes towards Digital Audio.
The key findings are:
Digital audio consumption has grown vs the last wave in October 2022, with 78% of adults in Ireland consuming digital audio – this represents an additional 280,000 weekly listeners with weekly reach now at 3.06m adults.
The Demographic profile of digital audio users remains similar to that in 2022, with 18-44s, those working full time and ABC1s over-indexing versus the general population. The 65+ demographic has also increased listening (+2%) since the last wave.
14% of digital audio listeners (429,218 weekly) don’t listen to radio on an FM device, up from 11% in the last survey. This is higher for younger age groups at 27% for 18-24s and 17% for 25-34s and for listeners of on demand music at 16% and podcasts at 14%.
The frequency of consumption (daily / weekly / monthly) of digital audio has increased this year. Over a third of digital audio users or 1.1M adults are listening daily (+3% on 2022 levels). Just under 9 in 10 adults (+4% on 2022 levels) are listening weekly.
The growth in listening is shared across all digital audio formats. The most popular formats used weekly are on demand music at 69%, online radio at 46% and podcasts at 38%.
Smartphone continues to dominate with 54% of digital audio users declaring it their most used device, especially among younger cohorts (73%), and among podcast listeners (63%). This speaks to the engaging and versatile nature of digital audio as a medium. Smart speaker is the next most used device at 15% followed by connected car at 12%.
The top 3 reasons why digital audio users engage with the medium are: Entertainment, an accompaniment to daily tasks and relaxation, with digital audio as an ‘accompaniment to daily life’ seeing another considerable increase this year (+6%).
Looking to the future, approx. 3 in 10 expect to increase their engagement with online music and podcasts (32% and 27% respectively) in the next year. While 1 in 5 (21%) claim the same about online radio.
It appears that there is an increasing willingness to listen to ads in exchange for great free content with over a third now happy to do so (36% up from 32% in October 2022). This indicates a positive shift in attitudes towards growing acceptance of free content being supported by ads.
The power of the format as a content discovery method remains impressive. 41% agree that listening to digital audio has introduced them to content that they were previously unaware of.
Sara Eslami, Director, Red C Research commented ‘The results from the 2024 wave of our ‘Listen Up Ireland’ research show the surge in engagement with digital audio seen during and immediately post pandemic is here to stay. 8 in 10 in Ireland now choosing digital audio. Younger adults continue to embrace digital audio at an impressive rate; a trend that also extends to those in full time employment and higher income brackets, making it an exceptionally effective channel.’
Maeve O’Meara, Programme Director at IAB Ireland commented ‘Our Digital Audio Council has been tracking Digital Audio growth since 2019, and with almost 8 in 10 now listening on an average week, the Audio market is thriving. This growth is also now being reflected in Digital Audio Adspend as Advertisers learn more and embrace this medium. We will continue to support this market with best practice learnings and insights.’
You can see the full deck and infographic below. Enquries to maeve@iabireland.ie
The Digital Services Act regulates the provision of digital services in the EU and applies to online intermediaries and platforms.
The primary goal of the DSA is to enhance the trust of both consumers and business users when engaging with online platforms – including the products, services, and advertisements users encounter on these platforms.
What does the DSA mean for the digital ad industry?
Article 26 of the DSA has most relevance for the digital advertising industry. This Article specifies thetransparency requirements required for Advertising; these obligations apply to Online Platforms, including ‘Very Large Online Platforms’ (VLOPs), as defined by the Digital Services Act.
Online platforms are defined as user-generated content platforms and online marketplaceswhich bring together sellers and consumers.
From February 17th, 2024, under Article 26 of the DSA, Online Platforms are required to provide the following information:
That the ad is indeed an ad;
The identity of the advertiser;
The identity of the party that financed the ad, if it is different from the advertiser;
Information about the “main parameters” used to determine the recipient of the ad;
Where applicable, information about any means users may have at their disposal to change those main parameters.
Additionally, online platforms need to provide users who publish content (e.g. influencers) with the functionality to declare whether their content is or contains commercial communications.
What is the IAB doing to help the industry comply?
Since the information required about ads is often held by intermediaries, IAB Europe has been working on a technical solution to help online platforms adhere to transparency obligations under the DSA, which is already in force for VLOPs and comes into effect for other entities on February 17th, 2024. This approach aims to make sure that information is available in a standardised manner and is passed on through the chain so platforms can implement the DSA transparency requirements.
To facilitate this process, IAB Tech Lab and the IAB Europe Taskforce have standardised data collection, compilation, and transport with new technical specifications and implementation guidelines. The technical specification, hosted by IAB Tech Lab here, provides data formats and a mechanism for the transport of the data that are required to enable the advertising industry to implement relevant DSA transparency information. This solution should be adaptable across most relevant use cases, including programmatic and non-programmatic media buys, and for channels including desktop web, mobile (web/app), video, and CTV.
Read more about the guidance and how it has been developed here.
