New Zealand’s digital advertising industry generated $1.588 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026, up 14% year-on-year, according to the latest Q2/H1 2026 IAB New Zealand Digital Advertising Revenue Report.
Q2 results were up 14% on the previous year to reach $806.2 million, moderately less than IAB Australia’s 16.3% reported growth for the second quarter.
Search remained the largest advertising format, taking 48% of total revenue in Q2 2026, up 13% on Q2 2025. Video was the fastest growing format, up 21% to $193.7 million and now accounting for 24% of total revenue. Social display and video grew by 20% year-on-year to reach $163.7 million in Q2 2026.
Growth broadened in other parts of the market – classifieds and directories delivered strong growth in Q2 up 14% to $98.8 million; results echoed across the Tasman as Australia saw classifieds record double-digit financial year growth for the first time since FY22.
Top five industry categories
New Zealand digital audio advertising continued to grow, up 13% year-on-year to reach $3.4 million. Comparative IAB Australia growth figures for audio showed an increase of 9.3% to reach $94 million, driven by audio podcasting.
In Q2 2026 the top five industry categories were recruitment, real estate, retail, government, education and charities and entertainment and media: recruitment (23.8% up from 22.7%), real estate (20.3% down from 21%), retail (7.3% up from 7.2%), government, education and charities (7.4% up from 6.4%) and entertainment & media (6% down from 6.6%).
The IAB New Zealand Digital Advertising Revenue Report is compiled by an independent third party and includes data from media owners, publishers and advertising platforms operating in the New Zealand market.
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