UK adspend hits Q1 high as optimism continues
UK adspend grew 9.3% to £9.2bn in Q1, according to the latest Advertising Association and Warc Expenditure Report.
This set a new record for the first quarter and was three percentage points ahead of expectations, due to “stronger-than-expected online growth”. Online formats made up more than three-quarters (79.7%) of total UK adspend in the period. Growth in full-year 2023 reached 6.1%.
After taking inflation into account, real growth in Q1 amounted to 5.5%, equating to an increase of £465m.
Spend in search (including retail media) and online display was up 12.0% and 12.8% in the quarter. However, the segment that showed the strongest growth was OOH, which increased adspend by 16.4%.
In a show of recovery for broadcast media in the last Expenditure Report, radio, cinema and TV returned to growth at 7%, 6.4% and 1.2% respectively. Within TV, broadcaster VOD saw a “continued strong increase” of 19.2%.
Looking at sectors, consumables (including food and drink, cosmetics and household FMCG) and services (including leisure and entertainment, media and transport) were the only major categories to register growth in Q1, at 16.1% and 8.9% respectively.
Stephen Woodford, Advertising Association CEO, said: “It is welcome news to see real-term growth and upgraded forecasts in the advertising market in Q1 this year — a positive sign that our industry is one of the driving factors in the UK’s economic recovery.”
Further ahead
Looking ahead, UK adspend is expected to increase by 9.2% in Q2 to reach £9.7bn, due to increased spending around the men’s Euros and the general election.
This would result in a rise of 9.3% for the first half to reach £18.9bn.
Last week, the IPA Bellwether Report pointed to increased optimism from marketers planning to increase budgets in Q2.
Indeed, the Advertising Association and Warc have upgraded growth forecasts for full-year 2024 and 2025, with the ad market expected to grow by 7.7% to £39.4bn this year and 5.5% to £41.6bn next year.
The 2023 Expenditure Report had previously forecast growth of 5.8% in 2024 and 4.5% in 2025.
Strong digital results and increased investment around Euro 2024 were listed as key factors for this year’s growth, with OOH, search and radio set to experience a boost in spend of 12.5%, 10.1% and 5.5% respectively.
Later this year, adspend on broadcaster VOD is anticipated to surpass £1bn for the first time, representing an increase of 13.7%.