Turkey: Digital ad. investments rise in 2017

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Digital advertisement investments rose 15.5 percent year-on-year in 2017, according to Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Turkey on Wednesday.

Nearly 2.2 billion liras ($593 million) of digital ad investments were made in the country last year, according to a statement for IAB Turkey.

Display advertising investments also rose 16 percent annually to stand over 1.2 billion liras ($337 million) in 2017, the statement read.

Advertising based on display or click received the largest investments with 879.7 million liras ($241 million) last year.

Video advertising investments surged by 50 percent during the same period and reached almost 270 million liras ($74 million).

The statement added that the amount of advertising through e-mail continued to shrink at 5.2 million liras ($1.43 million) -- while in-game ads (iga) grew to 13 million liras ($3.6 million)

Some 76 percent of social media ads -- $93 million -- were viewed on mobile devices, according to IAB Turkey.

Mahmut Kursun, IAB Turkey’s Chairman, said digital ad investment of 1 lira contributes to the country's gross domestic product.

"When this contribution is considered, the sector's growth of 15.5 percent plays an important role for both sectors and the Turkish economy," Kursun said.