The advertising industry in Ireland continues to recover, with growth in spending expected to continue in 2015 and beyond. This is being driven by the growth in online adspend, and mobile in particular. However, Irish consumers do not rate online advertising methods as effective in catching their attention and they are even taking steps to avoid it. That said, it could be that online advertising is reaching Irish consumers at a subconscious level and is thus a somewhat effective method for promoting goods and services.

Instead, it is the more traditional offline methods such as TV advertising that are deemed by consumers themselves as being effective in gaining attention. As such, this divergence in where advertisers are investing their budgets and what consumers rate as effective in catching their attention will create a challenge for advertisers when delivering their message.

This report examines the advertising industry in Ireland and includes an analysis of the main market drivers. It also draws on consumer research to examine how effective Irish consumers find advertising, how they are interacting with it and Irish consumers’ attitudes towards advertising.

• What are the main advertising channels used to reach Irish consumers? – Are the traditional print and broadcast media still the most effective advertising platforms or are Irish consumers more receptive to online advertising? Is sponsorship effective in reaching Irish consumers?

• Are Irish consumers exposed to too much advertising? – Do Irish consumers feel bombarded by advertising? Are they fast forwarding through adverts when using catch-up services? What impact is this having on the effectiveness of advertising?

• What are Irish consumers’ attitudes towards advertising? – Are Irish consumers switching channels, radio station or browser tabs when adverts begin? Do they use other devices when advertising breaks begin on TV? Is personalised advertising more likely to catch the attention of consumers in Ireland? Do smartphone and in-app adverts annoy Irish consumers?

• How can advertisers get Irish consumers to re-engage with advertising? – With the growing avoidance of advertising by Irish consumers, what can advertisers do to reach consumers in Ireland? What are the implications of this for the advertising industry? Why are Irish consumers avoiding commercial messages?

• What are the main drivers of the advertising industry in Ireland? – What are the implications of the growing usage of ad-blocking software by Irish consumers for advertisers? Where are the key growth areas for the advertising industry in Ireland? What role does mobile play in advertising? What is the level of expenditure on advertising in Ireland?

Other Mintel reports of relevance include:

• Digital Trends Autumn – UK, September 2015

• Social Networking – Ireland, May 2015

• Online Entertainment – Ireland, December 2014

• Attitudes to Advertising – Ireland, October 2014.

Please note that in the Market Size and Forecast section of this report, data is forecast by projecting how this particular market will progress based on various independent macroeconomic variables. Mintel uses economic data collected on inflation, population, exchange rate and GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to run a multivariate linear regression and trend function. With this function Mintel is able to forecast future market sizes and interpret the results based on the above variables including other independent factors that could change the future market. (Economic data is collected from NISRA, ONS, CSO and other statistical sources.)

In compiling this report, Mintel has gathered data from separate NI and RoI sources (eg NISRA – Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and CSO – Central Statistics Office). In some cases, therefore, it has not been possible to provide comparable data for each region.

For the purpose of this report:

• Ireland or IoI refers to the island of Ireland.

• NI refers to Northern Ireland.

• RoI refers to the Republic of Ireland.

• Therefore, ‘Irish consumers’ refers to both NI and RoI consumers.

Mintel also draws consumer insight from other sources:

• Mintel’s trend database and previous Mintel reports in the UK and Ireland

• Exclusive consumer research commissioned by Mintel and conducted by Toluna in June 2015.

Please note that the results presented in The Consumer sections of this report relate to the usage and habits of Irish internet users only, and do not account for the behaviours of non-internet users. Eurostat (January 2015) highlights that 80% of RoI consumers have used the internet in the last 12 months, while the ONS (May 2014) highlights that 79% of NI consumers have used the internet.

• Advertising – any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor.

• Catch-up/on-demand services – refers to television programmes digitally recorded using personal video recorder equipment to be watched by the user at a later date.

• Digital/online advertising – any form of advertising on the internet including display advertising, search advertising and mobile advertising.

• Direct marketing – direct mail, direct-response advertising and telemarketing.

• Sponsorship – financial or material support of an event, activity, person, organisation or product.

• Commercial media – these stations can be easily identified in that they broadcast advertisements. They are paid for predominantly by advertising. Major commercial TV stations include UTV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky TV channels. RTÉ is both commercially and state-funded.

• Non-commercial media – these stations do not broadcast advertising and are funded by the state.

The BBC network of TV and radio is completely non-commercial.