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Consumer Behaviour AA/Warc Expenditure Report Advertising & Media

UK ad spend hits record £4.7bn in first quarter, as growth outpaces the rest of Europe

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By Natalie Mortimer | N/A

July 28, 2015 | 2 min read

Ad spend in the UK has hit a record high, rising 8.2 per cent to over £4.7bn in the first quarter of 2015, and is set to outpace the rest of Europe this year and next.

The figures, released today (28 July) by the Advertising Association/Warc defied concerns from some media observers that Europe’s economic uncertainty would see advertisers tighten purse strings.

Spend on what the report deemed traditional display advertising, including television, radio and outdoor, spurred the record growth, rising 11.5 per cent to hit £1.2bn in the quarter. Display advertising also enjoyed a particularly strong period, growing 8.5 per cent to £3.8bn, a jump no doubt buoyed by the flow of more ad spend into programmatic. Mobile’s continued impact on the media mix saw its budgets increase 50.9 per cent, topping half a billion pounds.

Elsewhere, publishers faced difficult in generating higher yields from their inventory, with digital growth sagging to 7.4 per cent, the lowest growth rate on record. Consequently, total ad spend plummeted 6.8 per cent - a slowdown that affected Daily Mail owner Daily Mail and General Trust, which last week said digital ad revenues slowed to 8 per cent compared to 49 per cent the previous year.

Tim Lefroy, chief executive at the Advertising Association said: “Despite uncertainty in Europe and at home prior to the election, these figures come as a welcome boost. Adspend is growing faster here than anywhere in Europe, to the benefit of our digital economy, creative industries and UK plc.”

Out of home ad spend rose 9.7 per cent to £229m. Growth is forecasted to continue at 6.3 per cent in 2015 thanks to ongoing digital advancements.

Consumer Behaviour AA/Warc Expenditure Report Advertising & Media

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