UK Ad spend breaks £17bn for first time since 2007 according to AA/WARC Expenditure report
Advertising spend in the UK reached its highest rate since 2007 at £17bn and is forecast to grow by 2.7 per cent this year and by 5 per cent in 2014 according to the Advertising Association (AA)/WARC Expenditure report.
The report also found that out-of-home in Q3 2012 saw a boost as a result of the London Olympics, but is expected to see a decrease this year while national newsbrands (newspapers and their online presences) declined by 6 per cent last year, with zero growth forecast in 2013.
Despite this, growth of 2.7 per cent is expected in 2014, partly due to a strengthening of the economy and a predicated growth in digital ad spend of 20.3 per cent. Magazine brands are also expected to see digital revenue growth of 1.1 per cent.
Tim Lefroy, CEO of the Advertising Association, commented: “These figures are good news for our industries but there is a bigger picture. Advertising does not just track GDP, it drives it. The return to pre-recession levels of spending will have an impact not just on ad-land but the economy at large.”
This is the first time that the report has analysed newspapers and magazine ad revenue across both their printed and digital formats together.