UK advertising expenditure grew 6.8% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2015 to reach £4,646 million – the strongest third quarter on record – putting it on track to break the £20 billion mark for the first time this year.
Now in the ninth consecutive quarter of growth, according to data released today by the Advertising Association and Warc, strong results from TV, mobile and Internet have also resulted in upwards revisions in adspend for both 2015 and 2016.
Partly helped by the arrival of the Rugby World Cup, television spot advertising rose 10.8% to exceed £1 billion for the first time in a third quarter, while internet spend grew 13.2% and mobile a massive 40.2% – accounting for 29% of the internet total, up from 23.5% in Q3 2014.
Meanwhile, cinema spend grew 21.7% year-on-year and, with the release of new James Bond and Star Wars films in the fourth quarter, estimates for 2015 adspend growth have been revised up to 9.4%.
With Q3 outperforming expectations by 0.6 percentage points and positive trends in consumer expenditure, the AA/Warc have revised the full year 2015 adspend estimate upwards by 0.3pp to 6.1%, and the 2016 forecast up 0.2pp to 5.6%.
Tim Lefroy, chief executive at the Advertising Association, said: “This is the 9th successive quarter in which advertising growth ahead of GDP has helped to fuel the wider economy, and with growth of 5.6% expected this year our adspend forecasts remain surprisingly strong.”
Report summary
– Television spot advertising grew 10.8% and exceeded the £1bn mark for the first time in a third quarter, contributing to £1,103m total TV spend in Q3. Total TV advertising is estimated to have grown 7.8%, with further growth of 6.2% forecast for 2016.
– Radio adspend (excluding branded content) rose by 3.6%, more than double the rate forecast, reaching £117m in Q3. Total radio adspend is estimated to have grown 2.8% in 2015 with growth of 4.2% forecast for 2016.
– Out of home adspend grew 5.1% in Q3 2015 to reach £271m. It is estimated to have risen 3.4% in 2015, with growth of 4.9% forecast for 2016.
– National newsbrands adspend declined by 8.7% year-on-year in Q3 to a total of £283m. Print adspend fell 11.3% to £228m with digital spend growing 3.6% to £56m. Total national newsbrand spend is now estimated to have declined 9.3% in 2015 (a 12.2% decline in print and 6.0% increase in digital spend), with a slower decline of 4.6% forecast for 2016.
– Regional newsbrands adspend declined 6.5% in Q3 to £293m. Regional print adspend dropped 10.6% to £241m while digital ad revenues increased 17.9% to reach £52m. Total regional newsbrand adspend is estimated to have decreased 5.0% in 2015 (a 9.0% decline in print and 20.0% rise for digital spend) with a slower decline of 3.8% forecast for 2016.
– Magazine brands adspend fell 6.8% year-on-year in Q3 to reach £248m. Print adspend fell 9.4% to £169m and digital revenues declined 0.7% to £79m. Total magazine brand adspend is estimated to have declined 5.5% in 2015 (a 9.3% decline in print and 4.9% growth in digital spend) with a 3.5% decline forecast for 2016.
– Cinema adspend grew 21.7% (according to data from Nielsen) to reach £51.7m in Q3. With the release of Spectre and Star Wars in Q4 2015, cinema adspend growth estimates for 2015 have increased to 9.4% with further growth of 3.1% forecast for 2016.
– Internet (including mobile) adspend grew 13.2% in Q3 to reach £2,042m according to Warc estimates. Mobile grew 40.2% to reach £593m. Internet advertising is estimated to have grown 13.5% in 2015, with mobile growing at 45.2%. Growth of 11.3% and 35.3% respectively is forecast for 2016.
– Direct mail adspend data from the Royal Mail show a 0.8% decline year-on-year in Q3 to £425m. Full year growth of 2.1% is estimated, with a 0.2% decline forecast for 2016.
