The UK advertising market grew by 10.4% in 2024, exceeding the £40bn mark for the first time to reach a total of £42.6bn, according to new data from the Advertising Association (AA) and Warc.
Growth was largely driven by online display (15.1%) and search (12.8%) formats, which when combined, accounted for nearly 80% of total UK ad spend in 2024.
Spend in search, including retail media platforms, accounted for two in five pounds spent on advertising in the UK last year, reaching a total of £16.9bn. Meanwhile, social media accounted for 53% of overall online display.
Out of home (OOH) (7.7%), radio (3.2%) and direct mail (0.8%) also all saw growth in spend.
However, Stephen Woodford, CEO of the Advertising Association, warns that business confidence may weaken in coming months due to geopolitical headwinds and regulatory uncertainty, which could impact how businesses spend on advertising.
April’s forecasts have seen a slight downgrade from January’s predictions, factoring in a possible destabilising effect from the US trade tariffs on the wider global economy and a tougher economic backdrop.
“It’s important to remember once again that advertising supports competition and promotes innovation, and helps to create jobs across the UK, so a healthy advertising sector is integral to a healthy economy,” Woodford says.
While the UK ad market grew 10.4% in nominal terms in 2024, once inflation was accounted for, this translated to a real term rise of 7.6%. However, this was still ahead of the UK economy generally as GDP increased by 1.1% last year.
A new era of TV
Total TV spend grew by 3.8% to a total of £5.3bn last year. To align with increasing ad-supported viewing, the category has now been redefined to include more video services.
Previously, only broadcaster video on demand (BVOD) was included within the VOD component of TV, but it has now been expanded to include ad-supported subscription video on demand (SVOD) such as Disney+, Netflix and Prime Video, advertising-based video on demand (AVOD) and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST).
Looking at last year’s Christmas advertising season, the ad market grew 9.1% from the previous year. Search (12.5%), online display (15.4%), TV VOD (23.2%) all benefited, while cinema’s (24.2%) strong final quarter was supported by a slate of well-received films, including Wicked, Gladiator II and Paddington in Peru.
In 2025, AA/Warc expects the UK advertising market to grow by 6.3% to reach £45.2bn, however, this is a 0.6 percentage point downgrade from January’s forecast and reflective of a toughening trading climate.
“Though we expect investment to grow in the coming years, we are cognisant that confidence in the UK’s advertising market remains fragile, burdened by sustained economic stagnation and recently introduced business taxes outlined in the autumn statement,” explains Warc’s director of data, intelligence and forecasting, James McDonald.
“The introduction of new trade tariffs by the Trump administration adds further complexity, particularly for sectors with high exposure to international supply chains.”
He warns that the temptation to cut ad budgets will be “elevated”, but “short-termism poses an inordinate risk to enduring brand equity”.
This year, search (8.2%) and online display (9.1%) are expected to continue recording gains, but at a slower rate than the recent years of double-digit growth. Meanwhile, cinema (7.1%), out of home (2.7%), radio (1.9%) and TV (0.9%) are still expected to end the year in positive territory.
Further growth is forecast for 2026, with an anticipated rise of 5.6% lifting the UK ad market’s value to £47.8bn next year.
