The Media in Figures: UK advertising spend

TV and radio are both predicted to enjoy an increase in advertising spend in the UK, but not so newspapers or magazines – according to the latest quarterly report produced jointly by the Advertising Association and advertising analysts/consultants, Warc.

The latest UK Expenditure Report by the Advertising Association and Warc concluded, among things:

* to TV spot advertising grew six per cent in Q1 2014, and is expected to benefit from increased adspend around the World Cup in Q2 (+10.5 per cent). Overall, TV should record 6.5 per cent growth compared to last year;

* Radio (excluding branded content) rose by 5.7 per cent in Q1 2014 versus Q1 2013. We expect radio to register annual growth of 4.4 per cent in 2014, the sector’s best performance since 2003;

* National newsbrands print ad revenues declined more than anticipated in Q1 2014, down 8.3 per cent compared with 2013 to £286 million. While digital adspend rose 19 per cent for the same period to £47 million, it was not sufficient to offset the print drop, with the sector as a whole recording a 5.2 per cent dip.Forecasts have been downgraded for 2014 to minus 1.9 per cent;

* Regional newsbrands continued to decline in Q1 2014, with adspend down 6.8 per cent compared with the same period last year. This represents a 9.7 per cent drop for print (to £263 million) and an 18.6 per cent increase for digital revenues (to £39 million). We anticipate an overall decline of 7.3 per cent this year – in line with last year;

* Magazine brands saw adspend dip 3.8 per cent in Q1 2014, following a 6.5 per cent decline for print (to £172 million) and a 6.3 per cent uptick for digital (to £53 million). Total adspend is predicted to record a 2.1 per cent decline this year;

* Cinema adspend registered slight year-on-year growth of 0.4 per cent in Q1 2014, reaching a value of £36.3 million. Growth is expected to accelerate throughout 2014, notably in Q3 (up 10.6 per cent) when buoyed by summer blockbusters. We anticipate overall growth of 6.4 per cent this year;

* Internet ad spend grew 15.6 per cent in 2013, to £6.3 billion. With a growth rate of 95.2 per cent last year, mobile is expected to continue to grow rapidly, by 75 per cent in 2014 and 47 per cent in 2015. Total internet adspend (including mobile) is expected to increase by 14 per cent this year; and

* Direct mail adspend dropped by 1.4 per cent in Q1 2014. We expect marginal growth for the remaining quarters and an overall rise of 0.6 per cent for the year as a whole. New data from the Royal Mail show addressed mail’s advertising revenue reached £1,882 million in 2013, a year on year dip of 1.2 per cent compared with 2012.

Source: Expenditure Report, Advertising Association/Warc, July 7 2014.