UK ad spend above expectations for Q2

The report said the increase in the second quarter was four percentage points ahead of forecast, which it said was due to stronger than expected digital growth and a relatively 2023.

The latest figures for April to June this year show key online formats registered growth, including online display ( 21.6%) and search ( 12.7%), alongside out of home ( 17%).

The Men’s Euros broadcast saw TV benefit from growth of 9% for the quarter, representing the strongest quarter for TV in more than two years.

Regional newsbrands and magazines registered their first growth since the pandemic bounce back of the second quarter of 2022, with increases in spend of 1.9% and 0.5% respectively.

The figures show that in the first half of this year, advertising spend increased 13.5% to £19.6bn.

The increase also means that the Advertising Association and Warc have upgraded their forecasts for advertising spend across the whole of 2024 by 2.9 percentage points, with expectations that the market would hit an all-time high of £40.5bn.

If achieved, breaking the 40bn barrier would also mark a year-on-year increase of 10.6%, according to the report.

UK advertising spend is currently expected to register annual growth ahead of other key European markets, such as France ( 8%), Spain ( 5.7%), Italy ( 5.4%) and Germany ( 4%).

Looking ahead, the Advertising Association and Warc said they expected the UK’s advertising market to reach £43.1bn spend in 2025, a rise of 6.5% and one percentage point higher than July’s forecast. This was due to more favourable trading conditions and higher consumer spending, according to the report.

Stephen Woodford, chief executive at the Advertising Association, said: “The advertising industry is once again driving UK growth, helping businesses to compete, promote innovation and support jobs.

“It is an essential engine of the economy and key to the Government’s central ambition to achieve the highest sustained growth in the G7. Advertising has a vital role in funding culture, media and sport – and the results of Q2 show how advertising can play a fundamental part in supporting the success of events such as the Men’s Euros, the Olympics and the Paralympics.”

James McDonald, director of data, intelligence and forecasting at Warc, said: “Four in every five pounds spent on advertising so far this year has gone towards digital formats, money which has mostly been committed programmatically and which is increasingly leveraging AI tools for further efficiencies.

“The strong growth across the online sector in particular during the first half of 2024 has put the UK’s ad market on course for its best year since the millennium, if the post-pandemic recovery year of 2021 is discounted.”