Mail revival as adspend nears £20bn

Direct mail spend has bounced back in the face of booming Internet ads and a resurgent TV market, according a new study which predicts UK adspend will top £20bn for the first time in 2015.
The research, carried out by the Advertising Association/Warc Expenditure Report, shows UK adspend reached £17.9bn in 2013, up 3.9% on the previous year with mobile advertising (up 95%) leading the rise.
Broadcast video on demand (up 21%) and digital national newsbrands (up 19.5%) all also experienced strong growth but direct mail is placed third in terms of budgets, on £2.1bn (behind online on £6.3bn and TV on 4.6bn). And, after years of decline, direct mail spend is predicted to grow by 2% over the next two years; last year, PwC predicted direct mail budgets would rise as the economy starts to improve.
The figures do not include other classic DM disciplines such as door-drops and leaflets, which when added to the total would push direct marketing spend over £4.5bn, according to other estmates – most notably Group M’s research.
Meanwhile, Internet adspend grew 15.6% in 2013, to £6.3bn. With a growth rate of 95.2% in 2013, mobile is expected to continue to grow rapidly, by 73% in 2014 and 46% in 2015. Total internet adspend is expected to increase by over 12% both this year and next.
Advertising Association chief executive Tim Lefroy said: “Another set of positive indicators to support the growth story – every pound spent on advertising returns six to GDP. The forecast explosion in mobile advertising and digital formats points to UK advertising at the centre of a global revolution in consumer information, service and choice.”
Earlier this month, IPA’s Bellwether Report revealed the first quarter of 2104 saw the largest upward revision to budgets for 14 years. All categories registered upward revisions to their spend but traditional media – including TV, direct marketing, outdoor and print – overtook Internet marketing as the best performing category for the first time in almost three years.

4 Comments on "Mail revival as adspend nears £20bn"