The UK advertising market is continuing to recover from the effects of Covid 19, with growth set to reach £36 billion this year.
Between July and September 2022, UK advertising spend rose by 4.3% to a total of £8.5 billion according to the latest quarterly data from the Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report. This is the ninth consecutive quarter of growth and demonstrative of an ‘ongoing, resilient recovery’ from the pandemic.
The first nine months of 2022 experienced growth of 10.8%, with the total figure standing at £25.3 billion. Out-of-home (OOH) platforms and cinema continued their strong recovery by increasing by 13.2% and 148.1% respectively year on year. Search advertising also rose by 7.7%, equating to almost 40% of total adspend during the quarter. Social media also continued growing by 4.4%, while broadcast video on-demand (BVOD) spend rose by 4.3%.
Overall, the UK’s ad market is now thought to have reached a total of £34.7 billion in 2022, after accounting for inflation. During the ‘golden quarter’ (Q4 2022) adspend was estimated to have grown by 4.0%, to a total of £9.5 billion. According to the Advertising Association and WARC, the winter period hosted the two biggest events for adspend: Christmas and the FIFA Men’s World Cup.
Looking forward to 2023, the ad market in this country is expected to grow by a further 3.8% this year, totalling £36.1 billion, based on the latest advertising revenue data collected directly from media owners. However, forecasts for the coming year reportedly show reduced growth expectations for almost all sectors of advertising due to ‘pressures felt by all parts of the economy’.
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“The UK advertising industry has held firm in its continued recovery from the COVID pandemic, with ad investment holding up in the face of significant headwinds,” Advertising Association chief executive, Stephen Woodford, said.
“Advertising plays a vital role in helping brands communicate with their customers and navigate the cost-of-living pressures that everyone faces. As we publish our new 3-year strategy which puts trusted, inclusive and sustainable advertising at the heart of our mission, we are determined to show the economic and social value of responsible advertising to the UK.”
