AA reports 2.7% UK ad spend growth in 2011

UK advertising spend grew by 2.7% in 2011 reaching £16.1 billion in total, according to Advertising Association figures produced by Warc. Growth is expected to continue in 2012 with new forecasts predicting a 3.8% increase, well ahead of growth across the rest of the UK economy.

The AA/Warc Expenditure Report claims that much of the increase in 2011 ad-spend can be attributed to online advertising, with internet spend rising by 16.8% in 2011.

Television and radio rose by 1.9% and 1.6% respectively. National newspapers suffered a 7.1% decline in 2011 (with the closure of the News of the World contributing to the figure), but spend is predicted to stabilise at 0.7% growth in 2012. Cinema spend also fell in 2011 but is predicted to return to growth over the next two years.

2012 growth forecasts identify internet (up 8.9%) and out-of-home (up 5.0%) as the strongest contributors during the Olympic year.

Tim Lefroy, chief executive at the Advertising Association, said: “These forecasts show renewed optimism for the UK and for our leadership in the digital economy. This uptick for advertising is a strong indicator for growth, and we are looking at evidence that an advertising resurgence could actively boost GDP.”

The publishing of the UK’s 2011 ad-spend coincides with new McKinsey analysis, which attributes, on average, 15.7% of GDP growth across the G20 to advertising spend. The McKinsey report can be found here.

*The data collection methodology for direct mail has been changed from Q1 2012 onwards.
Note: TV excludes sponsorship; Radio excludes branded content; Press figures are for print only.