Mobile was central to the growth of online advertising in Europe across all formats, according to new figures from the AdEx Benchmark report covering H1 2016, with mobile display more than doubling in central and eastern Europe.

The report, produced by IAB Europe and IHS Markit, covered 27 European countries including Germany, France, Russia and the UK. €18.6bn (£15.75bn) was spent across the region on digital advertising during the period, up 13.4 per cent year-on-year.

All ad formats saw notable increases in spending in H1 2016, but mobile formats proved the main drivers of growth. Mobile search spending was up 57.3 per cent, compared to 13.3 per cent for overall search growth, and mobile display was up 61.3 per cent, versus 18.2 per cent for display overall.

Video display was also a source of considerable growth, up 46 per cent year-on-year, and accounting for almost as much ad spending as mobile (€1.6bn, compared to mobiles €1.9bn).

Altogether, mobile accounted for €3.8bn in ad spending in H1 2016, split evenly between search and display. Both accounted for around a third of overall spending in their respective categories.

While spending in central and eastern Europe was far behind western Europe (€2.2bn compared to €16.4bn), mobile growth was substantially faster, with mobile display up 103.9 per cent year-on-year, and mobile search up 50.5 per cent.

Looking ahead to H2 and full-year results, the report predicted that the growth of video, new native ad formats and large-scale sporting events like Euro 2016 and the Rio Olympics would all contribute to continued growth, but also warned that fragmentation in the ad tech infrastructure and the maturing market in western Europe could see growth rates begin to slow.