• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, October 21, 2019

The Interactive Advertising Bureau reported Monday that U.S. digital ad venue rose 17% to $57.9 billion during the first half of 2019, compared with the year-ago period.  

The latest IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report prepared by PwC U.S. shows that search rose 13.7% to reach $26.0 billion during the first half of 2019. The percentage, however, has begun to slip. The media represented 44.8% of total internet advertising revenue for the first half of 2019, down from 46.1% in the year-ago period.

It is interesting that the performance pricing model continues to account for the majority of advertising revenue. Performance pricing models are attributable for 62.1% of the revenue during the first half of 2019, followed by CPM at 35.7% and 2.2% for hybrid.

Key drivers for growth include video advertising, with marketers spending 36% more year-over-year to reach $9.5 billion. Advertisers have increased their investment in connected television (CTV),  according to the report, with an increased focus on non-traditional video content such as social video stories.

Mobile advertising rose 29% to $40 billion for the first half of the year, increasing its revenue share to 69%, while desktop took the remaining share.

Historical data shows how these two media have switched positions since 2015, when desktop took 70% share and mobile took 30%.

Audio advertising rose 30% to $1.2 billion. Advertisers spent $1.7 billion on rich media ads -- about 20% more than during the first half of 2018.

Despite the potential outlook for the first half of the year, the report also cautions that resources associated with complying with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other data regulations proposed by states will likely have a negative impact on digital businesses.

Randall Rothenberg, CEO of the IAB, warned that “further, innovation will likely be stifled when companies are forced to redirect resources to comply with an unwieldy patchwork of state-by-state regulations.”

Rothenberg also stated that the IAB has joined the Privacy for America effort to support national laws that will make it easier to protect consumer privacy, while continuing to fuel the digital economy.