The UK advertising industry grew in 2023 by 6.1%, amounting to a slight shrinkage when high rates of inflation are taken into account. And the bad news for print is that online and digital advertising accounts for four out of every five pounds spent on advertising, continuing the rapid rise of online expenditure in recent years.
The report from the Advertising Association/Warc calculates the industry to be worth £36.6 billion in 2023. It anticipates continuing increases this year, amounting to expenditure of £38.8 billion for this year and £40 billion for 2025.
The channels with the largest increases last year were online at 11% and out of home, frequently through digital advertising, at 9.7%. The sectors with the biggest growth rates were retail at 5% and leisure and entertainment at 4.7%.
Channels where print dominates did not fare as well. Spend on direct mail fell from £1.09 billion to £956.7 million; on printed magazines it slipped to £232.5 million from £251.6 million. Spending on newspaper advertising increased to £520.8 million (£450.8 million). Out of home also displayed an increase for print spend, rising from £749.9 million in 2022 to £841.3 million last year.
The report says that signs of improvement for the UK economy will mean a shift towards brand building styles of advertising rather than short term tactical campaigns. This could be good news for print as brand awareness is an area that print excels at.
It also points to the upcoming European football championships, the Paris Olympics and a UK general election as spurs to advertising growth this year.
However, the spectre of ever increasing budgets for digital advertising channels remains. Director of data, intelligence & forecasting, Warc, James McDonald says: “Our latest survey of media owners confirms 2023 as a challenging year for most, with few properties recording gains and spend instead further consolidating within search and online display formats – particularly social media. Combined, these digital staples are on course to account for almost four in five pounds spent on advertising in the UK next year, up from a share of 51% just five years ago.”
