Growth twice rate of GDP, Full Year 2018 forecast revised up to 4.8%

Further key findings from the report indicate: Q1 2018 was the strongest first quarter in three yearsPrint display ad revenue for national newsbrands rose for the first time in seven yearsRadio (+12.5%) recorded its strongest growth in four years, while internet (+10.8%), out of home (+5.3%) and TV (+5.0%) were all positive during the quarterAdspend growth forecasts for this year and next have been upgraded, by 0.6pp to 4.8% and 0.7pp to 4.5% respectively. If proved correct, this would conclude a decade of continuous growth, and result in investment of over GBP24bn in 2019.

Search now accounts for almost three in ten pounds spent on advertising in the UK, a share which has risen 1.8pp over the last year. Spend on search advertising has grown consistently since monitoring began in 2001.

Display formats, which account for just under two-thirds of all adspend in the UK, recorded a rise in investment of 4.7% in Q1 2018 - on a par with the rate recorded in the final quarter of 2017. Excluding direct mail, spend on display formats rose 6.0%. This was the strongest sector growth since the final quarter of 2015.

Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive at the Advertising Association said:

"Our latest advertising expenditure figures reflect the resilience of the wider UK economy, where consumer confidence is improved and the jobs market remains very strong. UK advertising continues to show steady growth with more businesses investing more spend in advertising. This investment boosts company profits and overall GDP, creates more jobs and helps our media sector to continue to invest in the creative content and technology that the public values.

"If Government can secure a good outcome from the Brexit negotiations and introduce a business-friendly immigration policy, we should continue to see sustained UK market growth and continued export success for advertising."

James McDonald, Data Editor at WARC commented:

"The UK's advertising market has now grown ahead of expectations in each of the last four quarters, and our projection for 2018 growth has been upgraded by a two percentage points since the start of the year on the back of sterling results across the media landscape.

"Online ad formats - particularly search and social media - continue to over perform, but traditional media are also proving their worth to advertisers. Notable among these are radio, TV, out of home and national newsbrands, with the latter carrying on from a good final quarter in 2017 to reverse a seven year downturn in display revenue."

The Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report is the definitive measure of advertising activity in the UK. It is the only source that uses advertising expenditure gathered from across the entire media landscape, rather than relying on estimated or modelled data.

Advertising AssociationMatt Bourn, Director of Communications[email protected]^[1] T:+44 (0) 20 7340 1100

Matthew Evans, Communications Manager[email protected]^[2] T:+44 (0) 20 7340 1100

About the Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report

The Advertising Association/WARC quarterly Expenditure Report is the definitive guide to advertising expenditure in the UK. Impartial and independent of any media channel or agency affiliation, it is the only source of historical quarterly adspend data and forecasts for the different media for the coming eight quarters. With data from 1982, this comprehensive and detailed review of advertising spend includes the AA/WARC's own 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, notably the Internet Advertising Bureau, Outsmart, Radiocentre and the Royal Mail.

All data are net of discounts and include agency commission, but exclude production costs. The survey was launched in 1981 and has produced data on a quarterly basis ever since.

About WARC

- Your global authority on advertising and media effectiveness

warc.com is an online service offering advertising best practice, evidence, insights and data from the world's leading brands. WARC helps clients grow their businesses by using proven approaches to maximise advertising effectiveness. WARC's clients include the world's largest advertising and media agencies, research companies, advertisers, market analysts and academics.

WARC runs two global and two regional case study competitions: WARC Awards, WARC Media Awards, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy and WARC Prize for MENA Strategy.

WARC publishes three global rankings of advertising excellence: Gunn 100 (creativity), WARC 100 (effectiveness), Gunn Media 100 (media innovation) and publishes leading journals including Admap, Market Leader, the Journal of Advertising Research and the International Journal of the Market Research Society. In addition to its own content, WARC features advertising case studies and best practices from more than 50 respected industry sources, including ARF, Effies, Cannes Lions, ESOMAR and IPA.

Founded in 1985, WARC has offices in the UK, U.S. and Singapore. In June 2018 WARC was acquired by Ascential plc, the global specialist information company.

About Advertising Association

We are the only organisation that brings together agencies, brands and media to combine strengths and seek consensus on the issues that affect them. Through wide-reaching engagement and evidence-based debate we aim to build trust and maximise the value of advertising for all concerned.

Contact:

Amanda Benfell
PR Manager
+44 20 7467 8125
[email protected]

Copyright © 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.

References

1. ^{^} [email protected] (www.acnnewswire.com)
2. ^{^} [email protected] (www.acnnewswire.com)
3. ^{^} [email protected] (www.acnnewswire.com)
4. ^{^} WARC (www.warc.com)
5. ^{^} Advertising Association (adassoc.org.uk)
6. ^{^} Media (www.acnnewswire.com)
7. ^{^} Advertising (www.acnnewswire.com)