Report: UK adspend reaches record level of £6bn
October 29, 2019
UK adspend rose 5.8 per cent year-on-year to reach £6 billion (€6.9bn) in Q2 2019, marking UK advertising’s 24th consecutive quarter of market growth. Adspend over the first six months of 2019 was 5.2 per cent higher than a year earlier, at £12 billion. These figures are contained within the Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report.
The report shows adspend growth for 2019 is forecast to rise 5 per cent and reach £24.7 billion, with the UK’s ad market expected to grow a further 5.3 per cent in 2020. The predicted full year growth figure for 2019 is an upgrade of 0.4 percentage points on the figure forecast at the last release of adspend data in July this year.
Overall market growth is being driven by increased spend on online advertising, which saw rises across most formats. Digital ad formats for radio broadcasters witnessed a year-on-year rise of 15.9 per cent and online national news brands recorded growth of 15.6 per cent over the same period. Digital out of home – not included in online totals – experienced growth of 17.2 per cent.
The report reveals particularly strong growthin Q2 2019 compared to Q2 2018 in VoD and cinema. VoD saw an increase of 20 per cent in Q2 2019 while cinema recorded an impressive rise of 49.6 per cent. The sector benefited from the entry of a number of new advertisers in comparison to the same period in 2018, boosting growth substantially.
Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive, Advertising Association, commented: “These very encouraging adspend figures for Q2 2019 cover the period immediately following the original Brexit date of March 29th, demonstrating the continued strength of UK advertisingduring a time of political uncertainty. Advertising’s dynamism is shown by the growth recorded across many different formats, with particularly impressive performancesfrom cinema, TV VoD and online radio.
“These figures are positivefor our industry and aregood indicators ofthe resilience of the UK economy. However, with another scheduled Brexit departure datelooking likelyto be passedon 31 October, we are acutely conscious of industry’s desire forthe clarity and needed tocontinue investingfor the future during these uncertain times,” Woodford added.
James McDonald, Managing Editor at WARC, commented: “An upgrade to our 2019 projection of almost half a point is reflective of stellar online growth, as well as over-performance for a number of traditional channels against the expectations we laid out in July. There is little in the data we receive from media owners across the industry to suggest an impending downturn, but growth cannot be taken for granted while economic prosperity remains in the balance.”