IAB Research tackles some of the biggest questions the industry faces. We arm you with insights into how digital advertising works, ideas about how to build marketing strategies, and information about how markets are moving.

2016 IAB Research Released

• Ad Blocking
• Ad Revenue
• Audio
• Cross Media
• Data
• Digital Advertising
• Digital Usage Trends
• Digital Video
• Elections
• Holiday Shopping
• IoT, VR and AR
• Mobile
• Thought Leadership
• All IAB Research
  

Ad Blocking

• Ad Blocking: Who Blocks Ads, Why, and How to Win Them Back
  July, 2016
  A research study that was released at an IAB Town Hall, shows that two-thirds of U.S. consumers using ad blockers could be convinced to uninstall their ad blocking software on their computers. The multiphase IAB study was conducted by C3Research and involved eyetracking, in-lab interviews and a survey of nearly 1300 computer users and 201 mobile users in the U.S., including a mix of those who use ad blockers and those who don’t.

Audio

• IAB-Edison Research Podcast Advertising Study
  September, 2016
  Released during the IAB Podcast Upfronts, The Podcast Advertising Study shows that 65% of podcast fans are willing to consider purchasing products and services they learn about during a podcast.

Cross Media

• IAB Cross-Media Ad Effectiveness Study
  January, 2017
  In January, at the request of the IAB Research Council and sponsored by Drawbridge, YuMe and Discovery Communications, the IAB released the IAB Cross-Media Ad Effectiveness Study, a study that decisively proves via live campaigns across 5 verticals (Auto, CPG, Retail, Finance, Media) that the inclusion of digital formats (desktop, mobile web, mobile in-app) with traditional media campaigns (TV, print, OOH, radio) consistently improves the overall brand impact, both individually and in combination with traditional media formats.  Importantly, the study provides evidence that desktop, mobile web and mobile in-app ads drive brand impact in cross-media campaigns:  Mobile web ads combined with any other media improved brand familiarity of a new auto model by 19% and the inclusion of desktop ads with any media lifted brand consideration by 26%.  Desktop plus mobile web plus TV proved to be a powerful combination.

Elections

• The Race for the White House 2016: Registered Voters and Media and Information During the Primaries
  January, 2016
  According to “The Race for the White House 2016: Registered Voters and Media and Information During the Primaries,” a research study from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), digital media has reached parity with TV as a primary information source about presidential candidates (61% for both digital and TV) and political issues (67% for digital vs. 69% for TV) among registered U.S. voters. This research seeks to go beyond basic understanding of where best to run advertising by candidates and advocacy groups, and to flesh out the relationship of potential voters to a broad range of sources of information. Moreover, as digital media continue to grow in importance, it is vital that we understand how all media are used to access information about candidates and issues, which issues are most important and how the potential voters influence each other.

Back to top

Holiday Shopping

• IAB Online Holiday Shoppers and Digital Influence
  December, 2016
  One-third of holiday shoppers plan to do most of their shopping online and they tend to be younger with higher incomes.  They are more likely to research and buy using their smartphones.  Since regular online shoppers are more influenced by digital ads and sponsored search results, this offers a prime opportunity to reach these shoppers with display ads, email ads, social media and search ads across computers and smartphones.

Back to top

Data

• The Data-Centric Organization: Transforming for the Next Generation of Audience Marketing
  September, 2016
  The IAB Data Center of Excellence and DMA, the largest U.S. data and marketing association, have released “The Data-Centric Organization,” a whitepaper showing that a lack of talent and ongoing functional silos are major hurdles to taking full advantage of “big data.”
• The Outlook for Data 2016: A Snapshot Into Digital Media and the Evolving Role of Audience Insight
  January, 2016
  This inaugural edition of “The Outlook for Data” found that digital media practitioners focused their 2015 efforts predominately on the continued expansion of their programmatic display media buying initiatives. In the year ahead, these same stakeholders expect to shift their attention and resources to programmatic approaches across emerging channels and formats—as well as to solving for audience recognition across devices.

Back to top

IoT, VR and AR

• The Internet of Things
  December, 2016
  Nearly two thirds (62%) of Americans own at least one internet of things connected device and 65% are considering buying one. Top devices owned are connected TVs, wearable health trackers and internet-enabled home control devices. The Internet of Things report explores consumer attitudes and usage of various connected devices along with a profile of these device owners. The study takes a further peak into consumer attitudes towards messaging and the potential for ads on such devices, revealing that 65% are willing to receive ads on IoT screens.

Back to top

Digital Advertising

• The Value of Targeting Advertisers to Consumer
  January, 2017
  The Value of Targeted Advertising is a brief compilation of research data points that shows consumers’ perspectives on targeted advertising. Most consumers prefer targeted to untargeted ads and believe them to be helpful.

Back to top

Ad Revenue

• IAB/PWC Ad Revenue 2016 Half Year Report and Webinar
  November, 2016
  Digital advertising revenues in the United States for the first half of 2016 have reached an all-time high, scaling to $32.7 billion according to the latest IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report released by the industry trade group and prepared by PwC US. This represents a 19 percent increase over last year’s then record-setting half-year revenues of $27.5 billion.
• IAB/PWC Ad Revenue 2015 Full Year Report and Webinar
  April, 2016
  U.S. digital advertising revenues reached an all-time high of $59.6 billion in 2015, according to the full-year IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report. This marks a 20 percent surge over the earlier record-breaking 2014 revenues of $49.5 billion – and represents the sixth year in a row of double-digit growth for the industry. In addition, the report shows that 2015’s fourth-quarter numbers reached $17.4 billion, a 23 percent increase from $14.2 billion in Q4 2014, and an 18 percent increase from the $14.7 billion in 2015’s third-quarter.

Back to top

Digital Video

• Video Landscape Report
  October, 2016
  The current video landscape is complex and evolving due to the confluence of technological innovations and consumer behavior shifts. As part of our continued effort to simplify video and educate the advertising marketplace about the growth and value of video, the IAB Video Center of Excellence has created this “Video Landscape Report.”
• Is Virtual the New Reality?
  September, 2016
  Everyone has their “first time experience with Virtual Reality” story. These first VR experiences are often profoundly transforming, providing breakthrough glimpses into artificial realities that were previously only present in our imaginations. We see these first experience stories play out again and again with friends and colleagues who pick up and try Google Cardboard at the office, or who attend events with demos of an ultra-highend VR headset.
• 2016 IAB Video Ad Spend Study
  April, 2016
  Advertisers and media buyers have made an impressive 114 percent increase in investments in original digital video programming over the past two years. This survey of 360 marketing and media buying professionals was conducted by Advertiser Perceptions and IAB.
• 2016 Original Digital Video
  May, 2016
  As part of a comprehensive research program around the NewFronts, IAB partnered with GfK to track consumer attitudes, awareness and usage of Original Digital Video. In its fourth year, the purpose of this study is to benchmark how many consumers are watching Original Digital Video and to inform the buying community about what consumers do, watch, think and feel about original, professionally produced digital video content.
• 2016 IAB NewFronts Insights Lunch
  May, 2016
  On Wednesday, May 11, 2016, over 120 senior marketers, agency executives, research professionals, and reporters attended the 4th annual IAB NewFronts Insights Lunch held at the IAB Ad Lab. IAB curated research from four industry leaders that took a deep dive into the behavior of digital video consumers and how video ads move them.

Back to top

Digital Usage Trends

• Mid Year 2016 IAB Consumer Usage Digital Trend Report
  November, 2016
  Mid Year 2016 IAB Consumer Usage Digital Trend Report – looks at consumer usage patterns of desktop and mobile sites, apps and videos over the first half of 2016 and in comparison to a year ago. As of June 2016, two-thirds of all time spent online was spent on a mobile device.
• Digital Fast Facts
  September, 2016
  Digital Fast Facts is a compilation of research charts and data points that can be used as a resource for basic digital statistics in answer to perennial questions like ‘How much ad revenue is generated by digital media? How many internet users are there? What are the top site categories visited? What are the top ad verticals?’
• The Impact of Digital Media
  June, 2016
  The Impact of Digital Media is a compilation of IAB research that illustrates the power, influence and impact of digital media on consumers, advertisers and spending. It also shows the growth of digital and mobile media in terms of consumer usage and ad revenue.
• 2015 Full Year IAB Consumer Usage Digital Trend Report
  March, 2016
  The 2015 Full Year IAB Consumer Usage Digital Trend Report covers which devices consumers are using, which sites they’re visiting, for how long and how this has changed over the year both overall and by key age groups across four sections: Overall Internet Usage Across All Devices, Mobile, Computer-Based Internet Use and Digital Video.

Back to top

Mobile

• The Internet of Things
  December, 2016
  Nearly two thirds (62%) of Americans own at least one internet of things connected device and 65% are considering buying one.  Top devices owned are connected TVs, wearable health trackers and internet-enabled home control devices.  The Internet of Things report explores consumer attitudes and usage of various connected devices along with a profile of these device owners.  The study takes a further peak into consumer attitudes towards messaging and the potential for ads on such devices, revealing that 65% are willing to receive ads on IoT screens.
• Understanding Digital Commerce in the U.S. and China
  November, 2016
  IAB and IAB China released the results of “Understanding Digital Commerce in the U.S. and China,” a study which shows that digital commerce is strong in the world’s two largest economies. In addition, Chinese digital users engage in more shopping behaviors on smartphones and tablets than those in the United States.
• A Global Perspective of Mobile Commerce
  September, 2016
  Mobile shopping and purchasing have become the norm across the globe, according to “Mobile Commerce: A Global Perspective,” an in-depth survey of mobile users from 19 countries around the world.
• Global Mobile Advertising Revenues surged to $49 billion (€37bn) in 2015
  September, 2016
  The IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, IAB Europe, and IHS Technology revealed their global figures for mobile advertising revenue which increased 68.2 percent to $49.bn (€37bn) in 2015 from $29bn (€22bn) in 2014, driven by a mobile first consumer world and improving marketing technologies. Mobile display continues to drive investment with the highest growth at 92.6%, while mobile search lagged behind, up 51.8%. Messaging grew by 20%, as users continue to migrate from operator-owned messaging services to app-based messaging platforms. In 2015, display accounts for over half of all mobile spend globally with a 52.3% share at $26bn (€19bn) and search takes a 42.8% share at $21bn (€16bn). Messaging’s share continues to decline with a 5% share at $2.4bn (€2bn).
  
• Seeking Better Mobile Ad Experiences: The Scroller Ad Concept
  June, 2016
  IAB partnered with Celtra and PadSquad to take a look at an emerging mobile ad concept, the scroller. Although not an IAB standard unit, several vendors offer variations on the scroller concept, and publishers have started to adopt it. The scroller runs inline within a content feed, scrolling smoothly onto and off the screen as a user scrolls through an article. While it’s a large canvas, because it is inline in a feed it does not run on top of or block underlying content, a major user annoyance.
• Multiscreen Video Best Practices: Understanding the Next Wave of Video Ad Receptivity
  A whitepaper created in partnership with Kargo and Refinery29, reveals that nearly three-quarters (73%) of marketers and media agency executives believe that user experience needs improvement in digital marketing. The survey’s 283 respondents cited ad clutter as the biggest obstacle to quality user experience (54%), while video and audio auto-play landed at the bottom of their list of concerns (18% and 16%, respectively). This quantitative study is augmented by interviews with seventeen industry luminaries from across the globe. These award-winning ad creatives, top brand marketers, and major publishing leaders provide their expert opinions on how to overcome these hurdles in the face of the new “liquid audiences” that discover content across a range of mediums, devices, and platforms.

Back to top

Thought Leadership

• 2016 Global Insights Report: What Works & Why
  September, 2016
  The “What Works & Why: IAB Global Insights Report 2016,” showcases case studies exploring two dozen award-winning campaigns from around the world, and featuring perspectives from 28 leaders across the international digital marketing and media landscape. The report focuses on boundary breaking campaigns in interactive advertising, curated from the international IAB MIXX Awards programs and other similar honors.

Back to top

All IAB Research

• The Internet of Things
  December, 2016
  Nearly two thirds (62%) of Americans own at least one internet of things connected device and 65% are considering buying one. Top devices owned are connected TVs, wearable health trackers and internet-enabled home control devices. The Internet of Things report explores consumer attitudes and usage of various connected devices along with a profile of these device owners. The study takes a further peak into consumer attitudes towards messaging and the potential for ads on such devices, revealing that 65% are willing to receive ads on IoT screens.
• IAB Online Holiday Shoppers and Digital Influence
  December, 2016
  One-third of holiday shoppers plan to do most of their shopping online and they tend to be younger with higher incomes. They are more likely to research and buy using their smartphones. Since regular online shoppers are more influenced by digital ads and sponsored search results, this offers a prime opportunity to reach these shoppers with display ads, email ads, social media and search ads across computers and smartphones.
• Understanding Digital Commerce in the U.S. and China
  November, 2016
  IAB and IAB China released the results of “Understanding Digital Commerce in the U.S. and China,” a study which shows that digital commerce is strong in the world’s two largest economies. In addition, Chinese digital users engage in more shopping behaviors on smartphones and tablets than those in the United States.
• Mid Year 2016 IAB Consumer Usage Digital Trend Report
  November, 2016
  Mid Year 2016 IAB Consumer Usage Digital Trend Report – looks at consumer usage patterns of desktop and mobile sites, apps and videos over the first half of 2016 and in comparison to a year ago. As of June 2016, two-thirds of all time spent online was spent on a mobile device.
• IAB/PWC Ad Revenue 2016 Half Year Report and Webinar
  November, 2016
  Digital advertising revenues in the United States for the first half of 2016 have reached an all-time high, scaling to $32.7 billion according to the latest IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report released by the industry trade group and prepared by PwC US. This represents a 19 percent increase over last year’s then record-setting half-year revenues of $27.5 billion.
• Video Landscape Report
  October, 2016
  The current video landscape is complex and evolving due to the confluence of technological innovations and consumer behavior shifts. As part of our continued effort to simplify video and educate the advertising marketplace about the growth and value of video, the IAB Video Center of Excellence has created this “Video Landscape Report.”
• Digital Fast Facts
  September, 2016
  Digital Fast Facts is a compilation of research charts and data points that can be used as a resource for basic digital statistics in answer to perennial questions like ‘How much ad revenue is generated by digital media? How many internet users are there? What are the top site categories visited? What are the top ad verticals?’
• IAB-Edison Research Podcast Advertising Study
  September, 2016
  Released during the IAB Podcast Upfronts, The Podcast Advertising Study shows that 65% of podcast fans are willing to consider purchasing products and services they learn about during a podcast.
• Is Virtual the New Reality?
  September, 2016
  Everyone has their “first time experience with Virtual Reality” story. These first VR experiences are often profoundly transforming, providing breakthrough glimpses into artificial realities that were previously only present in our imaginations. We see these first experience stories play out again and again with friends and colleagues who pick up and try Google Cardboard at the office, or who attend events with demos of an ultra-highend VR headset.
• The Data-Centric Organization: Transforming for the Next Generation of Audience Marketing
  September, 2016
  The IAB Data Center of Excellence and DMA, the largest U.S. data and marketing association, have released “The Data-Centric Organization,” a whitepaper showing that a lack of talent and ongoing functional silos are major hurdles to taking full advantage of “big data.”
• A Global Perspective of Mobile Commerce
  September, 2016
  Mobile shopping and purchasing have become the norm across the globe, according to “Mobile Commerce: A Global Perspective,” an in-depth survey of mobile users from 19 countries around the world.
• 2016 Global Insights Report: What Works & Why
  September, 2016
  The “What Works & Why: IAB Global Insights Report 2016,” showcases case studies exploring two dozen award-winning campaigns from around the world, and featuring perspectives from 28 leaders across the international digital marketing and media landscape. The report focuses on boundary breaking campaigns in interactive advertising, curated from the international IAB MIXX Awards programs and other similar honors.
• Global Mobile Advertising Revenues surged to $49 billion (€37bn) in 2015
  September, 2016
  The IAB Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, IAB Europe, and IHS Technology revealed their global figures for mobile advertising revenue which increased 68.2 percent to $49.bn (€37bn) in 2015 from $29bn (€22bn) in 2014, driven by a mobile first consumer world and improving marketing technologies. Mobile display continues to drive investment with the highest growth at 92.6%, while mobile search lagged behind, up 51.8%. Messaging grew by 20%, as users continue to migrate from operator-owned messaging services to app-based messaging platforms. In 2015, display accounts for over half of all mobile spend globally with a 52.3% share at $26bn (€19bn) and search takes a 42.8% share at $21bn (€16bn). Messaging’s share continues to decline with a 5% share at $2.4bn (€2bn).
• Ad Blocking: Who Blocks Ads, Why, and How to Win Them Back
  July, 2016
  The Ad Blocking research study that was released at an IAB Town Hall, shows that two-thirds of U.S. consumers using ad blockers could be convinced to uninstall their ad blocking software on their computers. The multiphase IAB study was conducted by C3Research and involved eyetracking, in-lab interviews and a survey of nearly 1300 computer users and 201 mobile users in the U.S., including a mix of those who use ad blockers and those who don’t.
• Seeking Better Mobile Ad Experiences: The Scroller Ad Concept
  June, 2016
  IAB partnered with Celtra and PadSquad to take a look at an emerging mobile ad concept, the scroller. Although not an IAB standard unit, several vendors offer variations on the scroller concept, and publishers have started to adopt it. The scroller runs inline within a content feed, scrolling smoothly onto and off the screen as a user scrolls through an article. While it’s a large canvas, because it is inline in a feed it does not run on top of or block underlying content, a major user annoyance
• The Impact of Digital Media
  June, 2016
  The Impact of Digital Media is a compilation of IAB research that illustrates the power, influence and impact of digital media on consumers, advertisers and spending. It also shows the growth of digital and mobile media in terms of consumer usage and ad revenue.
• The Value of Targeting Advertisers to Consumer
  May, 2016
  The Value of Targeted Advertising is a brief compilation of research data points that shows consumers’ perspectives on targeted advertising.  Most consumers prefer targeted to untargeted ads and believe them to be helpful.
  
• 2016 IAB NewFronts Insights Lunch
  May, 2016
  On Wednesday, May 11, 2016, over 120 senior marketers, agency executives, research professionals, and reporters attended the 4th annual IAB NewFronts Insights Lunch held at the IAB Ad Lab. IAB curated research from four industry leaders that took a deep dive into the behavior of digital video consumers and how video ads move them.
• 2016 Original Digital Video
  May, 2016
  As part of a comprehensive research program around the NewFronts, IAB partnered with GfK to track consumer attitudes, awareness and usage of Original Digital Video. In its fourth year, the purpose of this study is to benchmark how many consumers are watching Original Digital Video and to inform the buying community about what consumers do, watch, think and feel
• 2016 IAB Video Ad Spend Study
  April, 2016
  Advertisers and media buyers have made an impressive 114 percent increase in investments in original digital video programming over the past two years. This survey of 360 marketing and media buying professionals was conducted by Advertiser Perceptions and IAB.about original, professionally produced digital video content.
• IAB/PWC Ad Revenue 2015 Full Year Report and Webinar
  April, 2016
  U.S. digital advertising revenues reached an all-time high of $59.6 billion in 2015, according to the full-year IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report. This marks a 20 percent surge over the earlier record-breaking 2014 revenues of $49.5 billion – and represents the sixth year in a row of double-digit growth for the industry. In addition, the report shows that 2015’s fourth-quarter numbers reached $17.4 billion, a 23 percent increase from $14.2 billion in Q4 2014, and an 18 percent increase from the $14.7 billion in 2015’s third-quarter.
• 2015 Full Year IAB Consumer Usage Digital Trend Report
  March, 2016
  The 2015 Full Year IAB Consumer Usage Digital Trend Report covers which devices consumers are using, which sites they’re visiting, for how long and how this has changed over the year both overall and by key age groups across four sections: Overall Internet Usage Across All Devices, Mobile, Computer-Based Internet Use and Digital Video.
• Multiscreen Video Best Practices: Understanding the Next Wave of Video Ad Receptivity
  A whitepaper created in partnership with Kargo and Refinery29, reveals that nearly three-quarters (73%) of marketers and media agency executives believe that user experience needs improvement in digital marketing. The survey’s 283 respondents cited ad clutter as the biggest obstacle to quality user experience (54%), while video and audio auto-play landed at the bottom of their list of concerns (18% and 16%, respectively). This quantitative study is augmented by interviews with seventeen industry luminaries from across the globe. These award-winning ad creatives, top brand marketers, and major publishing leaders provide their expert opinions on how to overcome these hurdles in the face of the new “liquid audiences” that discover content across a range of mediums, devices, and platforms.
• The Outlook for Data 2016: A Snapshot Into Digital Media and the Evolving Role of Audience Insight
  January 2016
  This inaugural edition of “The Outlook for Data” found that digital media practitioners focused their 2015 efforts predominately on the continued expansion of their programmatic display media buying initiatives. In the year ahead, these same stakeholders expect to shift their attention and resources to programmatic approaches across emerging channels and formats—as well as to solving for audience recognition across devices.
• The Race for the White House 2016: Registered Voters and Media and Information During the Primaries
  January, 2016
  According to “The Race for the White House 2016: Registered Voters and Media and Information During the Primaries,” a research study from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), digital media has reached parity with TV as a primary information source about presidential candidates (61% for both digital and TV) and political issues (67% for digital vs. 69% for TV) among registered U.S. voters. This research seeks to go beyond basic understanding of where best to run advertising by candidates and advocacy groups, and to flesh out the relationship of potential voters to a broad range of sources of information. Moreover, as digital media continue to grow in importance, it is vital that we understand how all media are used to access information about candidates and issues, which issues are most important and how the potential voters influence each other.

Back to top