GroupM tips 7% adspend growth in 2016 as UK economy continues to grow
WPP's GroupM predicts that UK adspend will grow seven per cent year-on-year in 2016, as employment rates there continue to rise, with online media driving the growth, albeit at a slower pace.
Total UK adspend will hit £17bn next year, with the media group raising its 2016 outlook by two points (from five to seven per cent), meaning that if its forecasts prove accurate, 2016 will mark the fifth straight year in which UK adspend has outpaced the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the country.
GroupM has accredited the growth to continued increases in employment rates, with a growth in workers' real wages also adding to advertisers' willingness to invest in media.
Additionally, the advertising network has offered a breakdown of where it sees the £17bn being invested (see chart below) with pure-play internet and TV being the biggest beneficiaries, although overall growth rates are expected to slow from 7.4 per cent in 2015, to 7.2 per cent in 2016.
Nick Theakstone, chief executive of GroupM in the UK, said: “Digital advertising represents a tremendous opportunity for clients to create more targeted media campaigns that activate consumers, but it has also added enormous complexity and our group continues to solve this with strategy, innovation and investment.
"The year ahead is a promising one for growth of overall media investment as we work with clients to tap into empowering economic trends we see empowering UK consumerism.”