Growth In UK Adspend Slows During Second Quarter
Advertising expenditure in the UK increased by a nominal 1.2% year on year to almost £3.5 billion during the three months to June, as weaker than expected business conditions and the war in Iraq continued to weigh heavily on the market.
Broadcast media Commercial radio also went from strength to strength during the second quarter with increased investment from FMCG advertisers helping the sector to see a solid 4.1% improvement in expenditure to £126 million.
The difficult economic conditions meant that advertisers continued to turn towards more targeted and cost effective forms of marketing during the three months to June. This helped to boost the direct mail industry by 3.4% year on year to £545 million.
TV advertising also experienced a relatively positive period with expenditure increasing by 1.7% year on year to £950 million. The industry has been boosted recently by a rise in the number of lucrative sponsorship deals surrounding programmes such as Pop Idol and Big Brother. Forecasts also suggest that the forthcoming European Championships will drive revenues up by around 4% in 2004.
| Q2 2003 UK Advertising Expenditure By Medium | |||
| Adspend (£m) | Q2 2003 vs Q2 2002 % change | ||
| Current Prices | Constant Prices | ||
| National newspapers | 461 | -4.7 | -7.4 |
| Regional newspapers | 756 | 3.4 | 0.3 |
| Consumer magazines | 201 | 1.3 | -1.7 |
| Business magazines | 266 | -5 | -7.8 |
| Total Press | 1,683 | -0.6 | -3.5 |
| – of which display | 879 | -2.4 | -5.3 |
| – of which classified | 804 | 1.6 | -1.4 |
| Television | 950 | 1.7 | -1.3 |
| Radio | 126 | 4.1 | 1.1 |
| Outdoor | 185 | 6.3 | 3.2 |
| Direct mail | 545 | 3.4 | 0.4 |
| Total advertising | 3,488 | 1.2 | -2.8 |
| Source: Advertising Association, September 2003 | |||
Press advertising Things were less positive for national newspapers, which saw expenditure slip by 4.7% year on year during the second quarter to £461 million. However, the recently launched Newspaper Marketing Agency hopes to turn this around with a wide ranging strategy to promote the benefits of advertising in the national press.
Regional newspapers experienced a more successful period with expenditure increasing by a solid 3.4% to £756 million. A recent study from the Newspaper Society shows that regional titles are becoming increasingly popular and are now read by almost 85% of the UK’s population.
Meanwhile, consumer magazines posted a nominal 1.3% growth to £201 million in the three months to June. However, business magazines proved less fortunate and expenditure slid by 5% during the same period to £266 million.
The figures show that total press advertising shrank by 0.6% year on year to just under 1.7 billion. Within this, display declined by 2.4% to £879 million and classified inched up by 1.6% to £804 million.
Outlook The latest AA figures come on the back of rather dispiriting forecasts from ZenithOptimedia, which suggest that the UK remains a lacklustre market with total spending barely above levels seen in 2001. However, stronger than expected activity in the US and a slight upturn in Europe prompted the agency to raise its full year forecast for global advertising expenditure (see Zenith Sees Signs Of Recovery In Ad Market).