UK ad spend rises to nearly £20bn, with mobile marketing on the increase!

UK ad spend rises to nearly £20bn a year, around £1bn of which is now spent on mobile advertising…

According to the latest expenditure report undertaken by WARC and the Advertising Association, figures for advertising spend in the UK have risen steadily to nearly £20bn a year. Such figures coincide with predictions for further increases in advertising budgets, as the combined impact of recession and rise of the internet has forced brands to consider promoting on a longer list of media platforms.

Perhaps most significant in platform development is the growth of mobile advertising. The overall budgets for online advertising are expected to rise as figures are now formulated to include heavier spend on mobile advertising. It has been suggested that of the £6.3bn spent on internet advertising, £1bn is now invested in mobile.

Ofcom have delivered some unsurprising statistics that suggest tablet and smartphone devices are beginning to shape the ways in which we work and play. A massive 88% of 16-24 year olds in the UK now own a smartphone, and 44% of UK households now also own a tablet; trends possibly explained by the portability and ease with which individuals can access the internet via these devices.

Expense on mobile advertising and other modern formats such as television on demand are where the rising budgets are being spent, particularly since the so-called ‘millennium generation’ are said to be shaping future communication habits. In conjunction with this, print advertising expenses have continued to decline; with expectations for a 7.3% overall dip in spending in 2014 according to figures produced by the WARC.

The new anticipated release of the Apple iPhone 6 devices, with bigger screen space will mean larger ad space for mobile advertisers.