IAB Compass: Mapping the future of digital advertising
We’ve created IAB Compass with one core goal: to help our members navigate five fast-evolving areas of the digital advertising landscape. Between them, AR/VR, connected TV, digital out-of-home, gaming and ecommerce advertising are providing advertisers with new and exciting ways to bring brands to life, resonate with consumers, and drive sales. But how are these channels evolving? And what do you need to know in order to harness them effectively?
Created with research consultancy MTM, we focus on each channel in turn to map what’s happened to date, explore the key trends defining growth, and provide forecasts for future spend. You can also find actionable recommendations for how to start advertising in each area. In short, think of IAB Compass as an essential manual to help you understand the future of connected TV, digital out-of-home, gaming, shoppable and AR/VR - and how you can be part of it.
Navigating Digital Out-of-Home
Advertisers are increasingly shifting their out-of-home spend to digital screens, with DOOH accounting for 63% of all OOH ad spend in 2022 - up from 32% in 2015. Forecasts indicate further growth to 75% of the total OOH market by 2027.
Discover the opportunities as programmatic becomes an established part of the channel, as well as recommendations for advertisers, agencies, media owners and ad tech in this space.
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Navigating Connected TV
An ongoing shift to streaming among audiences, an increase in ad-supported viewing as people look to cut down on subscriptions, and new ad-based models from the likes of Disney+ and Netflix are all set to drive further growth in the CTV market - with ad spend forecast to rise from £1.17bn in 2021 to £2.31bn in 2026.
Find out more about our recommendations for agencies and advertisers new to connected TV.
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Navigating Gaming
Gaming ad spend is being driven by the evolution of ad solutions within the channel - such as native in-game ad formats and programmatic buying - as well as the adoption of gaming by advertisers across a broader range of sectors, from financial services to healthcare. Current annual spend of £815m is predicted to rise to £1.84bn by 2026.
Find out more about our recommendations for agencies and advertisers new to gaming.
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Navigating Shoppable Advertising
We estimate social commerce sales in the UK to grow from c.£2.4bn in 2021 to £6.8bn in 2026, accounting for 3% of ecommerce in the UK. Key drivers will be underlying growth in online sales - to c.£202bn in the UK by 2026 - and higher consumer uptake of social commerce to +26%.
Find out more about our recommendations for agencies and advertisers new to shoppable advertising.
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Navigating AR/VR
AR and VR are fast growing markets, expected to reach up to £90bn in combined value globally by 2026. Within this, AR advertising is expected to reach c.£7.5bn globally by 2026, with £250-350m spent in the UK. VR advertising is still nascent but likely to gain traction by 2026 as VR usage rises.
Find out more about our recommendations for agencies and advertisers new to AR/VR.
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Our goal with IAB Compass is to help the industry navigate how five key areas of digital advertising will evolve and diversify over the coming years - from CTV, digital out-of-home and gaming, which are already well-established options for advertisers, to AR/VR and shoppable ads that are in an earlier stage of growth in the UK market, but with huge potential.
Hannah Bewley, Senior Research & Measurement Manager at IAB UK