REPORT: Facebook Drives U.K. Online Display Ads

Social media drove up total spending on online display ads in the U.K. by 27.5 percent on a like-for-like basis to £945 million (over $1.5 million U.S.) during 2010, according to a report by the Internet Advertising Bureau released today.

The IAB compiled the data with help from Pricewaterhouse Coopers. According to their findings, social media ads represented 14 percent of all online display advertising in the U.K. last year, representing a 200 percent gain over the previous year.

IAB figures that U.K. audiences spend about 25 percent of their online time using social media, and ad spending reflects that.

Total spending on ads in the U.K. amounted to £16.6 billion in 2010, and the Internet accounted for a record high proportion of 25 percent.