NEWS29 October 2021

UK advertising industry poised for strong recovery

News Trends UK

UK – The latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report forecasts UK ad spend will grow by 24.8% this year to reach a total of £29.3bn. 

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The latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report forecasts UK ad spend will grow by 24.8% this year to reach a total of £29.3bn.

This latest report surpasses July’s projection (+18.2%) by 6.6 percentage points, making it the largest annual rise on record. Total investment for Q4 2021 – the important Christmas advertising season – is expected to be £7.9bn, again the highest level ever recorded. 

The latest dataset also includes revised projections for 2022 showing a 7.7% increase year-on-year to more than £31.5bn. Media channels set for a significant recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic include cinema (+123.2%) and out-of-home (+27.7%), while the growth in search, which includes eCommerce spend, is expected to continue its rise (+11.4%).

These figures, along with ancillary forecasts from WARC, suggest the UK is still on course to achieve the fastest ad trade recovery of any major European market this year, bouncing back from UK advertising’s £1.8bn decline in 2020.

Total investment is expected to be £7.9bn during Q4 2021, the highest level ever recorded during the Christmas period and almost £1bn more than last year (£929m). Search advertising is forecast to be one of the quickest growing media in Q4 2021, rising 15.3% to £2,715m, buoyed by consumers’ online shopping habits.

In addition, TV advertising spend is set to see its largest Q4 increase in over a decade, expected to rise by 9.0% to £1,564m, with broadcaster video-on-demand up by a quarter ( 24.1%). 

Commenting on the figures, Stephen Woodford, chief executive of the Advertising Association, said: “The UK advertising industry’s recovery goes from strength to strength, following the sharp shock of the pandemic. Ad spend is set to grow by 24.8% to a record £29.3bn, proving advertising’s role as a vital engine for growth in the UK economy, particularly during the upcoming Christmas period. The forecast of strong online performance is further evidence of the UK’s position as the world’s most digitally advanced advertising market and Europe’s biggest.” 

@RESEARCH LIVE

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