Data just released by the Advertising Association/Warc shows UK advertising spend grew at its fastest rate for three years in Q2 2014.
Growth of 8.5% year-on-year (reaching £4,515mn for the quarter) was the highest since Q3 2010.
Across the first half of 2014, total UK adspend rose by 6.3% year-on-year, leading to an upwards revision to the full year forecast to 6.4% (up 0.4pp from July’s forecast) and 6.5% for 2015 (down 0.2pp from July’s forecast).
Tim Lefroy (pictured), chief executive at the Advertising Association, said: “Growth at twice the rate of UK GDP is quite a headline, but the real story is of digital and creative leadership in e-commerce. As the Eurozone wobbles, it’s a reminder that our consumer economy is central to the UK’s economic narrative.”
Q2 performance was boosted by double-digit growth for TV, radio and internet and coincided with GfK’s UK Consumer Confidence Index moving back into positive territory at the end of June. Having declined for 21 of the previous 23 quarters, recruitment advertising has now registered three consecutive quarters of growth and was up 5.8% YOY for Q2 2014.
