Digital advertising to constitute a majority of all ad spend this year
A milestone in UK advertising spend is set to be crossed this year following publication of a forecast projecting digital advertising will account for more than half of the £8bn market.
The landmark figure comes amidst an explosion in usage of internet and mobile devices to a new record high, powering a 9.5 per cent increase in digital spend versus a mere 1.6 per cent uptick in traditional advertising, according to Strategy Analytics.
Significantly the UK is the first economy, of the 25 surveyed, to cross this threshold.
Advertising spend as a whole is anticipated to expand by 5.4 per cent to £15.8bn in the UK, a rate of increase that is close to two thirds faster than Europe and the US, driven upward by a 4.8 per cent spike in cinema advertising and a 3 per cent rise in TV ad spend.
Report author Michael Goodman said: “Digital crossing the 50 per cent share threshold is a seminal moment in the history of the ad industry, particularly factoring in its dominance in the UK compared to globally.
“Digital accounts for a third of ad spend in Western Europe, 30 per cent globally and just over a quarter in the US – where TV rules the roost.”