Online Ad Spending in Europe Maturing

The UK, France and Germany still account for the bulk of spending

Online advertising spending in Europe continued double-digit growth in 2007, according to recently released data compiled by the Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe (IABEurope) and analyzed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Online ad spending growth averaged 40% for the 16 countries covered. In comparison, online ad spending in the US grew by 26% during the same period, according to the IABEurope.

Advertisers in Europe spent €11.19 billion ($15.3 billion) online in 2007, up from €7.21 billion ($9.1 billion) in 2006.

The IABEurope said that the UK, Germany and France accounted for two-thirds of all online ad spending in Europe.

The European per-person online advertising spending average was €81 ($110) in 2007. Advertisers in Norway spent the most, at €133 ($183) per person, followed by those in the UK at €121 ($166) and Denmark at €110 ($150). In the US, advertisers spent €92 ($126) per person in 2007. The IABEurope said that advertisers in more mature markets put a higher value on Internet users.

"The development of the more mature markets in Europe is a sign that they are seeing increasing amounts of investment from a wider range of advertisers than ever before," said Nicki Lynas, senior manager at PwC, in a statement.

Although the IABEurope does not make online ad spending projections, Carat predicted in March 2008 that growth would slow both this year and next.

In comparison, eMarketer predicts that online ad spending growth in the US will slow to 22.7% in 2008 and 15.8% in 2009.

Despite slowing online ad spending growth in Europe, the medium will still nearly double as a percentage of total ad spending by 2012, according to Screen Digest.