The Online advertising expenditure rose 13.5% in UK in the first half of 2011 as per the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) report. Advertising 
spending on internet surpassed the expectations to reach a new market share of 27%. A quarter of billion pounds more was spent on internet advertising in this period in 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. These figures which were given by the IAB (the trade body for digital advertising) in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and WARC excluded mobile advertising expenditure.
About quarter of the online advertising spending was on online display ads. Increased number of social media and brand campaigns along with direct response resulted in the growth of these ads. Online display advertising grew 18.5% year on year on a like for like basis to £510 million. This represented a 23% share of online spend in the first half of 2011. Online video ads grew 100% in this period. Their size had increased to £45 million contributing about 9% of the online display ads. This indicates that most of the advertisers turned to deliver brand messages through video this period. However, banner ads and embedded formats dominated the online display ads with a share of about 73%.
Because of its transparent and measurable benefits, paid-for search marketing also experienced a growth. The search increased 12.6% year on year, on a like for like basis. It represented about 58% of online advertising in the first half of 2011. Lead generation is a performance based marketing where people pay per sales lead rather than a click through or by an advertisement served. This too grew 20% in the same period.
Finance sector occupied the top category which spent higher (16%) on online display ads and displaced the entertainment sector. However, the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) recorded a growth by six percentage points in two and a half years. Growth of online audience and online population watching more and more online videos were found to be key drivers for growth of online advertising in the country.