13.6% increase over the previous year and adding over $700M to the market.
The results of the 2023 Digital Adspend study were released at a member-only event on 6 June 2024.
The report, available to IAB MENA members, includes detailed breakdowns and regional granularity, including estimates on video, social and search.
As in previous years, the methodology was driven by mathematical modelling, validated through a mix of actual spends, collaborative estimates, and comparative benchmarks to reach agreed figures and growth rates. For this year’s study, 25 companies took part in the validation process through 1:1 interview sessions with the research team.
Some highlights include:
The MENA region ranks in the Top5 EMEA markets by size. Despite a significant slowdown in Q4, particularly across social media, the growth rate of 13,6% positions the MENA region as a faster growing market than both EMEA and the US.
Video again dominated the region at 50% of the total digital investment, with social video up 31,5% accounting for 62% of total video.
Search was a big winner for the year, with a growth rate in excess of 18% in part due to additional investments in retail search, and a limited decline in Q4.