Interact, IAB Europe’s flagship conference, took place in Brussels on 20th – 21st May. I was excited to attend and find out the latest on digital advertising in Europe.

Covering hot topics from AI and PETs (Privacy Enhancing Technologies) to Retail Media and digital advertising measurement, there was a lot packed into the two days. At the event, IAB Europe also unveiled its 2024 AdEx Benchmark Report which shone a light into the state of play across the market.

Here are just a few insights and stats that stood out:

  1. Europe’s digital advertising spend is looking very healthy – Europe (consisting of 30 countries) had a total digital ad spend of €118bn in 2024. 60% of this came from the UK, Germany and France (in that order). So, the market is big, healthy, and growing (16.5% year on year). Interesting to note that Europe’s digital advertising market is 50% the size of the USA’s, and both are growing at a similar rate.
  2. Digital leads the way and video drives growth - Two-thirds of all Ad spend in Europe is digital (and this excludes digital OOH) and the key driver of growth across social and display is video.
  3. Programmatic continues to see fast growth - Programmatic spend was €15.5bn, which equates to 18.4% growth year on year. UK spend was up 14% from a strong base. As a reminder, programmatic is defined as inventory bought via a DSP (Demand-Side Platform) – software that allows advertisers to buy ad inventory across various publishers and channels using automation. 
  4. Retail Media goes from strength to strength - Retail Media spend has been examined for the first time in this report and is already worth €10bn. On this dynamic topic, Marie-Clare Puffett, Industry Development & Insights Director at IAB Europe, posed the question “Is it retail + media or media + retail?” She went on to explain that it depends on the organisation, but in the end what matters is to be a media channel with effective measurement and accountability.

With our Assurance work in Retail Media growing, alongside the demand for standardised metrics and independent auditing in this market, we’re looking forward to helping to deliver this accountability alongside leading organisations like IAB Europe.

For a full breakdown of all that happened at IAB Interact, check out their summary here.