Data: UK ad spend declines
July 13, 2023
The UK ad market dropped -2 per cent in 2023 YTD (January to May), an improvement from the trends seen in H2 2022, when the market declined -4 per cent YoY, according to data from Guideline, powered by Standard Media Index (SMI). Digital media, which represented 55 per cent of the share and grew +6 per cent, was the driving force in the January-May 2023 period, with Outdoor also increasing +8 per cent. All other media types showed YoY declines.
In conjunction with the release of this data, Guideline has launched its UK ad spend product, which captures actual media investment from all six major holding groups and the largest independent agencies within the UK, representing more than 90 per cent of the agency market across all media: Digital, TV, Outdoor, Radio, and Print.
“With Guideline established as the single source of truth for ad spend in other key markets like the US, Canada and Australia, expanding into the UK was a top priority for our stakeholder community, from our agency partners to our international media owner and brand subscribers” said Scott Knoll, CEO at Guideline. “In partnership with the UK’s largest agencies we’re bringing much needed transparency, accuracy, and timeliness to the UK media ecosystem, helping improve how media is bought and sold in a highly fragmented and growingly complex media market”.
Other findings for the period include:
- The UK market delivered a better performance than other major English-speaking markets such as North America and Oceania, which decreased -3 per cent and -4 per cent, respectively.
- While Linear TV dipped -16 per cent, BVoD spend increased +7 per cent, now representing approximately 25 per cent of the premium video share across Linear and Digital
- Within Digital, Programmatic buying grew +13 per cent YoY. Social was +8 per cent up, while Search grew +2 per cent.
- The ‘Apparel and Accessories’ product category saw the biggest levels of growth, up 22 per cent YoY in the January-May period, with the second highest growth category being ‘Automotive’, up +20 per cent YoY.
The product launch comes on the heels of the company’s acquisition of Mediaocean’s global media planning tool, Lumina, and rebrand to Guideline, which the company says highlights its role as a trusted authority in guiding advertising decisions for a majority of the world’s largest brands, agencies, and media owners.