Nearly $12B In Q1 Ad Revs, Mobile Likely Above 20 Percent

This morning, the IAB released topline digital ad revenues for Q1 2014 in the U.S .market.

The trade group said that revenue hit $11.6 billion, representing 19 percent growth over last year’s $9.8 billion in Q1. (The press release reflects $9.6 billion but the full year 2013 report says $9.8 billion).

The IAB did not provide ad-category breakdowns. The chart below reflects how full year 2012 and 2013 revenues were broken out by ad format/type. We can assume most of the distribution is consistent with the 2013 allocation.

An exception may be mobile, which grew from 9 percent of total digital revenues in 2012 to 17 percent in 2013. There’s reason to believe that mobile is now at 20 percent or above.

There’s also reason to believe that video’s share is now larger too. That would mean other formats would necessarily be smaller (e.g., Sponsorship, Lead-gen).

For the time being, assuming a distribution roughly equivalent to the FY 2013 numbers, here’s how the real dollars reported today would look:

• Search: $4.9 billion (rounded)
• Display: $2.24 billion
• Mobile: $1.9 billion
• Video: $812 million
• Classifieds: $696 million
• Lead-gen: $464 million
• Rich Media: $348 million
• Sponsorship: $232 million

About The Author

Greg Sterling

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.