UK adspend up 2.4% in Q1 to £4.14 billion

Following a return to pre-recession levels in 2012, UK advertising spend continued to show healthy growth in the first quarter of 2013, according to the latest Advertising Association/Warc Expenditure Report.

UK adspend increased by 2.4% in the first quarter of 2013 to £4.14 billion. This follows a strong performance in 2012, as adspend broke through the £17 billion barrier, the most spent on advertising in the UK since 2007.

Updated forecasts now predict total adspend growth of 2.6% in 2013, followed by a rise of 4.9% in 2014.

“A pound spent on advertising returns six pounds to GDP,” said Tim Lefroy, chief executive of the Advertising Association. “These figures don’t just reflect growing confidence, they represent an important investment in the recovery.”

Q1 2013 Expenditure Report highlights

• Q1 growth was fuelled by an 11.1% increase in internet spend, driven by the
  continued strong growth of mobile advertising.
• TV spot advertising also increased ahead of trend in Q1 2013, rising by 5.6%.
• Total adspend across newsbrands and magazine brands fell by -7.9% and -11.6% respectively, but these declines are forecast to slow in 2013/14, spurred by strong growth in digital revenues for each channel.
• Following a strong Olympic year, out of home spend grew by just 0.1% in Q1 2013 and is predicted to decline for the year as a whole, but the rate of decline has been cut from -2.1% to -1.5%, with the forecast for 2014 lifted from 3.9% to 4.6%.
• Of the other media, cinema increased 1.6% in Q1 2013, direct mail fell by an estimated 1%, and radio fell by 2.9%.