From a media perspective, staying on top of internet advertising trends is a “must-do” today. But marketers, too, have more reason than ever to be aware of the developments taking place in digital advertising.

This is one reason IAB’s (Interactive Advertising Bureau) comprehensive reports on the internet advertising landscape are so critical. IAB issued its 2019 half-year report in October and, as expected, the data show a continuing upward trend for internet advertising. The latest report proudly states that “the digital advertising industry remains one of the strongest and most dynamic sectors of the U.S. economy.”

Indeed, advertising growth in the first half was up nearly 17 percent, and “is still far outpacing all other ad supported mediums.”

Aside from the top-line growth, though, there are many other details to consider. In a section that digs into “the third revolution of television,” IAB notes that streaming video platforms will continue to thrive and that “the rollout of 5G networks and 5G compatible smartphones will further increase mobile consumption and pave the way for content providers and advertisers to create better, faster and more innovative [user experience].”

A few other items of interest from the report:

• Advertising via social media channels “continues its ascent with revenues growing 25.7 percent” in the first half of 2019.

• Performance-based pricing represented just under two-thirds (62.1 percent) of internet advertising revenue in the first half, a slight uptick from 61 percent in the year-ago period.

• While CPM-based revenue also stayed fairly constant (35.7 percent compared with 34.5 percent), internet ad revenue attributable to a “hybrid basis” of pricing dropped significantly, from 4.6 percent to 2.2 percent of total revenue.

The one cloud on the horizon— if it can be called that—is the direction privacy regulations move. As IAB notes, “innovation will likely be stifled” if companies are forced to comply with a patchwork of state-by-state regulations. Now this is something to watch.

mtosh@jobson.com