The UK’s ad market grew 11.2% in 2024, taking it to £40.7bn.
A buoyant third quarter for the sector saw ad spend exceed £10bn for the period for the first time (£10.6bn). According to the data from the Advertising Association and WARC’s Expenditure Report this is attributed to improved performance for search, plus the growth of other online formats (including social media).
It’s these online formats where further growth is expected, particularly due to the uptake of artificial intelligence. Even so, WARC sounds a note of caution about being too optimistic about the upcoming 12 months.
“Online ad formats, benefitting from the widespread adoption of new AI tools, have propelled the UK ad market to exceptionally strong growth so far in 2024 and will continue to drive expansion into 2025,” explained James McDonald, Director of Data, Intelligence & Forecasting, WARC.
“However, economic uncertainty remains at both a local and global level. As a new US president comes into office, attention will be focussed on implications for the world economy. In the UK, advertising businesses will look to the UK Government’s growth strategy and how it will affect the industry. A deterioration in overall business confidence could lead some marketers to depress spend in the short term.”
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These preliminary figures come ahead of the full report, which is due to be published in April. Then, we’re likely to see that over the year Online Display has grown by 18.9%, Search 12.7%, Broadcaster Video On-Demand +12.4% and Out of Home +10.3%.
The strong Q3 was driven by lots of sport between July and September – the Olympics, Paralympics and England’s performance during the men’s Euros.
Again Online Display led the way (+15.2%), that was followed by:
- Online Radio (+10.0%)
- Broadcaster Video On-Demand (+8.7%)
- Direct Mail (+12.9%)
- Radio (+3.8%)
Looking ahead to this year, AA/WARC anticipates additional growth of 6.9% in 2025, by which time, the UK’s ad market will be worth £43.5bn and it believes the sector will outperform the UK economy, even in real terms.
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The key channels expected to see rises during the next 12 months are:
- BVOD (+12.9%)
- Online Display (+9.4%)
- Cinema (+4.7%)
- Online Classified (+2.5%)
- Online Magazine Brands (+1.3%).
The Advertising Association/WARC quarterly Expenditure Report is a quarterly survey of all national newspapers, regional newspaper data collated in conjunction with Local Media Works and magazine statistics from WARC’s own panels. Data for other media channels are compiled in conjunction with UK industry trade bodies and organisations, including the Internet Advertising Bureau, Outsmart, Radiocentre and the Royal Mail.
