Cadbury owner Mondelez was the biggest out-of-home advertiser in Ireland in 2014, according to the end-of-year Posterwatch report by PML Group.

This is the first time since 2008 that Diageo has not been the biggest spender on advertising through out-of-home formats such as billboards, transport posters and digital display screens.

The overall out-of-home advertising market grew 6 per cent last year, which was the best performance for the medium since 2007.

Mondelez, which ran multiple Cadbury chocolate campaigns including “Rate the 8”, “#FreeTheJoy” and “Here for a Good Time, Not a Long Time” (for its Easter creme egg promotion), increased its spending compared to 2013.

Its campaigns had a display value that was 22 per cent higher than the previous year, while the confectionery category as a whole rose by 15 per cent. Diageo was the second biggest spender, followed by fast food chain McDonald’s.

However, the sector that spent the most on the medium in 2014 was finance, which increased its display value by 34 per cent. EBS and AIB were the most active banks, while insurance companies Zurich, Laya Healthcare and Aviva also contributed to the total spend.

"Out-of-home made a bit of a comeback in 2014," said Colum Harmon, marketing director for PML Group, specialists in out-of-home advertising. Digital out-of-home formats, such as "dPods" in shopping centres, now represent 8.4 per cent of all display value, up from 5.1 per cent in 2013.

“We are back in growth again which is a great start,” Mr Harmon said. “It’s an exciting time as technology is changing the medium in many ways.”