Research firm eMarketer is predicting U.S. display ad spending will surpass search for the first time ever in 2016, although the latter will remain the largest digital category in Canada through at least 2019.
While display will be the fastest-growing digital sector with projected growth of 12.4% in 2016, according to eMarketer, the company predicts that Canadian advertisers will invest $2.5 billion in search this year, compared with $2.1 billion for display (a category that includes video, sponsorships, rich media and “banners and other”).
Canadian analyst Paul Briggs told Marketing that search remains a popular choice for advertisers because it is a mature category that offers the ability to set investment limits.
“The maturity of those products really appeals to advertisers,” said Briggs, who said that U.S. advertisers are “playing around” with display more than their Canadian counterparts. “They’re testing new avenues for display, and getting better results than what you would see in Canada,” said Briggs.
He also said that display units such as interstitials and rich media are “more available” from U.S. publishers and ad-tech platforms, while Canadian advertisers tend to be more reticent to invest in emerging media.
“Canadian advertisers tend to reflect a more conservative approach to new technologies and wait until things are a little more developed before they start to invest,” said Briggs.
While Briggs said that rich digital display units are available in Canada, he said they are offered by fewer vendors.
While it won’t occur during eMarketer’s forecast period, which runs through 2018, Briggs predicted that display will ultimately follow the U.S. trend and surpass search as richer ad products hit the market and consumers grow more receptive to display, particularly on mobile devices.
Briggs said that mobile display is under-performing in Canada, which he attributed to “distracting” ad units that can commandeer a full screen and turn off consumers. “As it becomes more contextual, I think you will see it exceed search at some point in the future,” said Briggs.
The U.S. report, meanwhile, predicted that one in every five dollars devoted to digital this year will go to the “banners and other” ad types, while video spending will account for 14.3% of all digital investment, up from 12.8% last year.
