According to the Advertising Association/Warc Expenditure Report, internet adspend increased 17.3% to £8.6bn, with mobile accounting for 78% of that growth, growing 61.1% to a total of £2.6bn. The UK is comfortably the largest internet advertising market in Europe and ranks third globally, behind the US and China.
TV adspend rose 7.3% to a record £5.3bn, with spot expenditure rising 6.7% and video on demand increasing 20.7%. Cinema adspend rose 20.8% to reach a new high of £238m, driven by high-grossing films like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and SPECTRE.
Annual growth in adspend was also recorded for direct mail (+1.4% year-on-year to £1.9bn), out of home (+3.9% to £1.1bn) and radio (+2.9% to £592m) last year.
The strong growth in total UK adspend is expected to continue with a rise of 5.5% forecast in both 2016 and 2017.
Tim Lefroy, Chief Executive at the Advertising Association said: “The UK is the fastest-growing major advertising market in Europe, and its most successful exporter. It’s a tribute to our creativity and technical innovation.”
The data show that as a share of GDP, UK adspend rose to 1.08% in 2015, higher than any other G7 nation. For every man, woman and child in the UK, £308.56 was spent on advertising last year.
At-a-glance media summary
* Television adspend grew by 7.3% to reach a record £5.3bn in 2015. This was spurred on by a 6.7% growth in spot expenditure to £4.8bn, as well as a 20.7% growth in video-on-demand, reaching £175m. Further growth for total TV spend of 5.1% is forecast for 2016.
* Radio adspend (including branded content) rose by 2.9% in 2015, amounting to a total of £592m. We forecast radio adspend to register an annual rise of 4.3% in 2016.
* Out of home adspend grew 3.9% to a record high of £1.1bn in 2015. Of this, adspend on digital panels rose strongly by 22% to £332m. Total out of home adspend is expected to rise a further 4.9% in 2016.
* National newsbrands adspend declined 11% in 2015 to £1.2bn. Print advertising revenues fell by 13.4% to £1bn, although digital adspend rose in 2015 by 2.5%, to reach £220m. Looking at print advertising revenues more closely, there was a 16.7% drop for popular (tabloid) papers, and a more modest 9.2% drop for quality (broadsheet) titles. A slower decline (-5.9%) in total adspend is forecast for national newsbrands in 2016.
* Regional newsbrands adspend declined 6.2% in 2015 to £1.2bn. Print advertising spend saw a 9.5% dip, falling to £977m, but digital advertising revenue grew by 14.8%, to £199m. The reduction in overall adspend is set to slow in 2016 to -5.4%.
* Magazine brands adspend fell 5.2% in 2015 to £942m. Print adspend dipped 9.3% to £659m, while digital adspend rose 6.1% to £283m. Overall, adspend is due to fall by 4.5% in 2016.
* Cinema adspend grew by 20.8% to reach a record £238m in 2015, driven by two of last year’s highest grossing films, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and SPECTRE. It is expected to grow a further 4% in 2016.
* Internet (including mobile) adspend rose by 17.3% to reach £8.6bn last year. Mobile adspend rose by 61.1% to reach £2.6bn. In 2016 total internet advertising will rise by 11.5%, while mobile adspend is expected to climb by 36.8%.
* Direct mail adspend data from the Royal Mail show 1.4% growth to £1.9bn in 2015. A rise of 0.9% is expected in 2016.
