Despite questionable economic growth figures, UK marketing companies have been spending more than ever in 2013. Research from the IPA’s Bellwether report shows that UK firms are spending more on advertising, with 22.3 percent of companies in the UK increasing their advertising budgets during the second quarter of 2013.
The figures are somewhat surprising for industry analysts, which have long seen the average marketing budget for UK firms decrease. Surveys from IPA used to show an ongoing decline in marketing spend that affected the majority of UK companies, but current figures indicate that times may be changing for the advertising industry.
Just 15 percent of UK firms reduced their advertising budgets in the second quarter of 2013, indicating a 7.3 percent total increase for the industry. The increase is the highest on record since September 2007 – a month in which advertising spend hit a record level before the financial crisis began to result in declining budgets.
The figures are great news for UK advertisers, who have long suffered from reduced budgets designed to keep operational spending as low as possible. Many companies reduced their advertising spend in the wake of the financial crisis, leading to a drop in sales output that many in the industry believe could have been prevented.
Online advertising was one of the most popular spending areas for UK firms, with a 17.4 increase in spending in the last twelve months. Traditional marketing methods such as public relations and direct mail saw the smallest increases, with just 3.4 and 0.6 percent growth, respectively.
IPA director general Paul Bainsfair claimed that the growth in spending was due to an increase in confidence from top-tier firm. Markit economist Chris Williamson, an expert on industry spending, claimed that people should be ‘a little bit cautious’ of the results, as false conclusions had been drawn from data in the past.
