WARC Report Shows Advertisers In The UK Are Spending Record Amounts Post-Pandemic
A new report – UK Advertising’s Adspend Review: The Pandemic Effect – has been published today to mark the definitive full year 2021 Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report figures, which show the extraordinary adspend growth seen during the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The UK ad market reached a record £31.9bn in 2021, equating to growth of 34.3% year-on-year. The latest AA/WARC full year figures reveal the 2021 ad market emerged £8bn larger than April 2020’s original forecast of £24bn set at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. This growth is in part due to inflationary pressures on the cost of advertising but also a higher-than-expected growth in key forms of online advertising during the past year.
Three in every four pounds spent on UK advertising today is invested in one of a wide range of online formats – only China has an equivalent online share of this proportion. New data shows internet adspend totalled £23.5bn in 2021, equivalent to 73.5% of all UK adspend and a jump up of 11.7 percentage points from pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
Notable shifts were seen in adspend, sector by sector, during the pandemic with the UK Government quickly becoming the UK’s largest advertiser to drive mass behaviour change. This shift is further examined in ‘UK Advertising’s Adspend Review: The Pandemic Effect’. It includes contributions from WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness; Credos, UK advertising’s thinktank; and industry perspectives from AA members, including Google, Tesco, News UK, UM, ISBA, as well as TV marketing body, Thinkbox. The review also notes the pandemic has seen a disruption in the usual relationship between GDP and adspend.
Forecasting the years ahead
The latest AA/WARC data presents an upgrade to the previous forecasts for 2022. The UK’s ad market is forecast to grow by 10.7% this year to £35.3bn, driven by a strong start to the year, higher CPMs and higher demand ahead of the FIFA World Cup. In 2023, this is set to add an additional 5.4% year-on-year to reach £37.2bn, though economic headwinds – particularly in relation to cost of living pressures and supply chain disruption – mean this is liable to review.
Online threshold marks a new era of advertising
The latest AA/WARC figures show search, inclusive of e-commerce, proved to be the strongest performer in 2021 – at £11.7bn it beats April 2020’s projection (made during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic) by over £3.7bn. In addition, TV surpassed early expectations by almost £1bn, while online video overperformed by approximately £2bn and social media by £2.3bn in relation to the forecasts made at the start of the pandemic.
The UK Advertising’s Adspend Review also contains commentary from Credos, highlighting the close link between internet retail spend and online adspend. With online retail spend of $2,648 per capita, the UK has the world’s most avid online shoppers. In tandem, the UK ad industry is seeing an exponential demand for digital skills and talent to serve this demand.
Commentary from WARC concludes that the changes seen in the advertising market during the pandemic allude to an emerging structural shift, one which points to a new era of advertising with retail media poised to play a more prominent role in future.
Stephen Woodford, chief executive, Advertising Association, said: “The UK has held its position in 2021 as the largest advertising market in Europe through the pandemic and is now the third largest in the world, behind the USA and China. While further growth is forecast, inflationary pressures on the cost of advertising, and more generally, due to the ongoing geo-political uncertainties, mean we should be cautious.
“While lockdowns saw sharp declines in spend across some sectors, the pandemic presented our industry with opportunities to innovate and meet the public health challenges. The UK Government remained in pole position as the largest advertiser. Cover wraps in our print media informed the nation with ‘Stay Home’ public health messages; direct mail brought testing kits and essential deliveries to households up and down the country; and billboards showed the everyday heroes in our NHS.
“Such innovation, creativity and responsiveness will be critical in the years going forward, as we build a sustainable future for our industry, and help businesses, large and small, build relationships with their customers.”
James McDonald, director of data, intelligence & forecasting, WARC said: “The Covid-19 recovery last year was buoyed in part by the release of pent-up investment on established online platforms – as well as maturing ones such as TikTok – and in part by the emergence of retail media as a major contender for marketing budgets. The latter trend bears the hallmark of a new era in advertising, one which is set to fuel growth over the forecast period and beyond.
“Be that as it may, economic headwinds create uncertainty ahead; the consumer is being stretched further than at any other time since the Second World War, conflict in Europe has stoked market volatility and has exacerbated supply chain pressures, and the prospect of a UK recession cannot be ignored. Given the market’s current momentum, however, we do not yet see this translating into an advertising recession over the coming quarters.”
The Advertising Association/WARC quarterly Expenditure Report is the definitive guide to advertising expenditure in the UK with data and forecasts for different media going back to 1982.
Download UK Advertising’s Adspend Review: The Pandemic Effect report and a sample of the Executive Summary here.
Latest News
SBS Audio Campaign Tells The Stories Of New Australians, With Multilingual Content Offerings To Assist Migrants
SBS Audio has launched a new marketing campaign for its ‘Australia Explained’ service which supports new migrants to successfully navigate life in Australia and achieve a greater sense of belonging and social cohesion. SBS’s flagship service for new migrants, Australia explained, has launched a multi-platform marketing campaign that reaches into the heart of the migrant […]
Tracker App Launches, Promising Consumers A Read On Brand’s & Products Sustainability Chops
Shoppers can now get access to sustainability information at their fingertips through Tracker, a first-of-its-kind mobile app. The Tracker app centralises sustainability data into a single, easy-to-understand format, helping shoppers make informed choices about the brands and products they support. Shoppers can simply scan the barcode of their favourite supermarket, chemist or department store item […]
Channel Factory Expands Team Across Australia & New Zealand By 20%
Channel Factory has expanded its team by 20 per cent in Australia and New Zealand with the hire of a new sales director and five account managers. Lead image: Channel Factory new hires. New hires include account managers Renee Fox and Anna Soucek in Melbourne; Emma Sepokas, Liana Mann and Lachlan Granville in Sydney; and […]
Jaywing Extends Strategy Team Appointing Fran Martin As Senior Brand Strategist
Jaywing has appointed Fran Martin as senior brand strategist, a newly created role to plan and craft a wide range of solutions for Jaywing’s performance and creative clients. Lead image: Fran Martin, senior brand strategist, Jaywing. Martin joins Jaywing Australia’s growing strategy offering and will work cross-functionally with the agency’s client service, creative and paid […]
Tourism Tasmania Taps Broadsheet For Latest “Off Season” Campaign Iteration
Tourism Tasmania has once again tapped Broadsheet for its “Off Season” campaign marking the third consecutive year of the collaboration to drive visitation to Tasmania during the winter. This year, Broadsheet and Tourism Tasmania have gone bigger than ever and, for the first time, have turned the Tasmania content vertical on the site ‘dark’. In this […]
Netball WA Appoints 303 MullenLowe As Brand Strategy partner
Netball WA has appointed 303 MullenLowe to develop an organisation-wide brand definition and related value propositions for the sporting body. Once complete, the strategy will shape the future direction of all brand expression and stakeholder communications. It is the first time the agency has partnered with Netball WA, as it looks to implement a consistent […]
RyvalMedia Flies Off With RedBalloon Media Account
Australia-based experience marketplace RedBalloon has appointed RyvalMedia to helm its media duties. Lead image: Bianca Falloon, Sydney general manager, RyvalMedia. After working with RedBaloon on its Christmas and Mother’s Day campaigns, RyvalMedia took home the full media strategy, planning and buying remit. “The future of our partnership with Ryvalmedia is bright as we continue to […]
“First We Get Plastered Then We Fill Your Holes” – Tradies Face Ad Standards Ire
Ad standards has banned an ad for a plastering firm, branding it “violent” and featuring “sexual innuendo”. Bergmann Plastering’s vehicle advertisement shows its logo and the slogan “First we get plastered then we fill your holes.” Ad Standards’ community panel considered that the slogan was seen to be degrading to women. Based on a 17 […]
ANZ, Lyre’s, Uber, Adam Ballesty & An Australian Of The Year – More Big Names Join Cannes in Cairns, Presented by Pinterest!
With less than a month to go, there are just a few final moving parts to the epic Cannes in Cairns, Presented by Pinterest agenda. Lead image: Adam Ballesty, CMO, GM, Growth Consultant. In case you missed it, we revealed that multi-award-winning journalist and TV host Lisa Wilkinson AM is set to join the incredible […]
Grab A Sneak Peek At Pinterest’s Special Guests This Cannes in Cairns!
With just mere weeks to go until Cannes in Cairns, Presented by Pinterest, kicks off, we’ve got the official sneak peek of its mainstage special guests. That’s right, the global visual discovery platform powerhouse is back with two epic keynote sessions. Grab your Cannes in Cairns tickets now, before it’s too late! “The quality of […]
M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment’s Steve Martin And Jamie Wynne-Morgan Sign Off From Agency They Set Up
Two of the industry’s top sports marketing leaders have officially left the agency they helped set up 20 years ago after a period of gardening leave and will launch a new venture soon. Lead image: Steve Martin and Jamie Wynne-Morgan will be launching a new venture in the coming months. Former M&C Saatchi Sport & […]
Netflix Has Google & Amazon In Crosshairs With Ad Server Launch
Netflix has announced that it will be launching its own ad server and bringing its adtech in-house at its Upfronts presentation overnight. The burgeoning ad-supported streamer plans to have its own in-house adtech platform up and running by the end of next year. “Bringing our ad tech in-house will allow us to power the ads […]
Boom, Boom, Boom! Get Ready For the Boomtown Bus Whisking You To Cannes in Cairns, Presented By Pinterest In Style!
Hot on the wheels of rolling out an epic agenda, Cannes in Cairns, Presented by Pinterest, is the gift that keeps giving. Not only will record-level attendees be privy to world-class content across three tracks and a bevy of Cairns Extra dinners and VIP networking events but the fun is set to continue with The […]
On The Menu Joins Forces With TBWA\Melbourne To Melt Freezer Shame
This campaign "fights misconceptions about frozen food". Ice-cream, pies, Sara Lee! What misconceptions, B&T asks?
IMAA Announces Digi-Byte Event Featuring Industry’s Top Talent Plus “Immersive” Gaming Competition
The indies fan group unveils plans for its newest event. Says anyone in a WPP running singlet will be refused entry.
Bowel Cancer Revealed As Australia’s Deadliest Creature In New Campaign, Via Ogilvy Health
Does your office have a secret & serial farter? Possibly lure them out with this important bowel cancer campaign.
Who’s In Charge? B&T Reveals The Best Of The Best Industry Association Chiefs!
B&T's acknowledging the 10 very best industry association bosses. Discover if your membership dues are worth it here.
TEDxSydney Splits Into Two; Check Its New Creative Program
TEDxSydney moves to Luna Park's Big Top in June. Get motivated & throw up on the Wild Mouse at the very same time.
TV Ratings 14/5/24: Punters More Interested In Farmer Wants A Wife Drama Than Jeremy Clarkson’s Agricultural Adventures
Think sheep husbandry programs are TV's missing link? You can't complain with Farmer Wants A Wife AND Clarkson's Farm.
Paper Moose and Innocean Australia launch Love Our Work Industry Charter
It's a top initiative fostering harmony in the creative space. Not to downplay the unbridled joy of destroying a rival.
IAB: Privacy Act Changes Might Lead To “Nonsensical Outcomes” For Digital Advertising As Industry Wrings Hands
B&T front row at the IAB's Data & Privacy Summit. So private, in fact, attendees were wearing fake moustaches.
Fortress Games Hits Play On Partnership With Havas Network’s Organic And One Green Bean
The games culture destination names local agency roster who'll hopefully explain what a games culture destination is.
Fabulate Launches New List Of Fastest Growing Aussie Creators, Including Leah Halton, Across Social Media
A list of who's hot in Australia's influencer/creator world's here. And it's bad news for foodies angling for a freebie.
Find Your Work-Life Balance: ‘Airbnb’ Your Next Job With ViewJobs
Farmer Wants A Wife piqued your interest in all things regional? See who's hiring with this regional job initiative.
Madeleine Hawcroft Joins Deadset Studios As Executive Producer
Madeleine Hawcroft has joined the Deadset Studios team. Confirms she is of no relation to Russel.
Zimmermann Opens An Immersive Brand Space At Iconic Paris Department Store Le Bon Marché With Amplify Paris
Zimmermann continues to pioneer Aussie fashion on the global stage. Not forgetting Tradies underpants in that comment.
Red Rooster And Four‘N Twenty Team Up To Rev Up “Aussie-ness” Ahead Of Footy Final Season
Australia's greatest culinary gifts to the world join as one. B&T unsure of the whereabouts of the lamington.
‘The Emperor’s New Clothes Are Going To Be Stripped Off’: News Corp’s Pippa Leary & Panel Of Industry Leaders Urge Advertisers To ‘Wake Up’
B&T goes one-on-one with News' MD of client product, Pippa Leary. Sadly, we got KO-d in the third.
News Corp Rolls Out Shoppable And Targeted In Time View Ad Formats
Accidentally doze off during the juicy bits at yesterday's D_Coded? No one will be any the wiser with these cheat tips.
Samsung Launches ‘Clash of Commuters’ with CHEP Network and Livewire
Look no further than this for the huge marketing potential of gaming. That & people willingly drinking Monster.
Fintech Disruptor Revolut Launches New Above-The-Line Campaign In Australia To Challenge Traditional Banking Conventions
Disruptor wants to "challenge traditional banking conventions". "We'll see about that," retorts Mr CBA, Westpac, et al.
Chris Freel: The Uncomplicated Complexity In OOH
Former UnLTD boss come oOh! sales director talks his love of outdoor (as in the ad medium, not hiking up a steep hill).
Cairns Crocodiles The Work: B2B Campaigns Sponsored By LinkedIn
B&T's shining a light on the B2B category for the coming Croc Awards. Well, more candle after the torch batteries died.
Expedia Launches Travel Shops Giving Influencers Tools To Shopify The Travel Content Experience
Travel's so popular they even have large conferences in Las Vegas dedicated to it. To prove it, B&T's there. Right now.
News Corp’s Lou Barrett On D_Coded: ‘The Penny Has Dropped… So We’ve Supercharged How Brands Plan, Book & Measure In One Place’
B&T chats with Lou Barrett post News' D_Coded event yesterday. Alas, we didn't talk the Tele's bikie gang fascination.
Advertisers Wasting 42% Of Digital Ad Spend – Next&Co report
With the cost of living crisis biting I think we can all agree that waste is rarely a positive thing...