New Digital Age gathered reaction to the release of the latest IPA Bellwether quarterly report, which tracks the movements in ad spending in the UK across Q2…
Dean Nagib, UK country manager at Azerion:
“The rise in video investment is particularly significant, showing that brands are clearly prioritising formats that combine strong storytelling with measurable reach and engagement.
“But with confidence slipping and other online budgets cut for the first time in seven quarters, every pound will face greater scrutiny. Reach alone won’t survive that inspection. Advertisers will need partners that can deliver quality environments, transparent outcomes and a clear connection between attention and business performance, with proof that audiences aren’t just seeing the message but are genuinely open to it.”
Jodie Gillary, head of brand activation, Kantar UK:
“It’s great that budgets are holding but for me the more interesting question is: how is AI driving these decisions? LLMs are upending how consumers discover and buy from brands, and getting return on marketing spend will rely on winning with both people and machines. Blindly going ‘social first’ won’t cut it anymore – we know LLMs don’t tend to source from TikTok or Instagram. Earned media, meanwhile, is really moving the needle on brand strength, reaching man and machine by drumming up conversation and positive reviews. We’re seeing marketers starting to get to grips with what AI means for their brand building strategies, but the reality is that this will look different for each business, depending on the brand, its target market and what LLMs they’re using, so it’s important to get the right intel to make sure investment is really delivering effectively.”
Kamel El Hadef, co-founder and co-CEO, Audion:
“After several years in decline, budgets for audio advertising have stabilised in the latest Bellwether report. These unequivocal results are thanks to the immersive, uncluttered and contextually relevant space that the channel provides.
“Elsewhere the report presents a more mixed picture as the external environment remains unpredictable. It’s encouraging to see that marketing budgets are continuing to demonstrate resilience, with organisations signed up to the principle that, to deliver growth, advertising must be a long-term game.”
Tim Mitchell, CEO, CreatorOS:
“The report results mirror conversations we had at Cannes Lions, about brands beginning to bed in for the long-term, especially around newer media channels like creator marketing. They’re thinking strategically about how they use budgets over the next few years, as the global outlook stays uncertain.
“Topics such as social shopping and optimising content for SEO, and AI optimisation using niche and expert creators are top of mind. We can see brands want to sit on solid foundations, like creator content, in contrast to a few years ago when the larger creators were being used to get spikes in attention.”
Paul Dahill, Managing Director EMEA Sales, Koddi:
“UK marketers are being told to play the long game on brand investment at the same time as a structural shift is happening in how products get discovered and bought. We’re seeing this trend run across our conversations with advertisers. Commerce media networks which integrate rather than fragment and prove value through real measurement, will be the ones still standing when confidence returns.”
Amy Budd, client services director, Launch:
“The marketing industry is currently facing an ‘attention recession’. Brands have exactly 1.7 seconds to stop the scroll. That’s why video spend is up. Brands are waking up to the power of visual storytelling to resonate with the customer and reap the reward of their attention.
“Quite simply, by using video to build familiarity with the 95% of people who aren’t ready to buy yet, brands win the battle before the search auction even begins. They are shifting focus further up the funnel, which makes a significant difference. It drives down acquisition costs and stops customers from switching to a cheaper competitor at the checkout.”
Ben Zloof, CEO, UniLED Software:
“The findings reinforce what we’re starting to see in the industry: advertisers are looking beyond short-term performance toward maintaining long-term brand strength. As investment increases, the accountability and transparency of every media channel become even more important. While budgets remain under pressure, advertisers want the confidence and reassurance that their ad spend is performing as hard as possible.”
Xavier Sheriff, founder at StudioXAG:
“It’s perhaps no surprise that we’re seeing an increase in marketing spend invested in events. Bold brands understand the importance of impactful, experiential storytelling, and there’s no better way to do this than by creating evocative visual worlds and memorable moments that enable customers to immerse themselves in, and live, the brand. The power of events lies not just in the control a brand has over telling its story, but in the fact that its reach doesn’t end when the customer exits the door. It lives on through social and PR – engaging content curated by the brand itself or generated by creators and visitors.”
Sarah Logan, Head of GTM, EMEA at Intuit Mailchimp
“A second consecutive quarter of budget growth – and the second-highest investment levels in two years – shows that, despite ongoing economic pressure, businesses continue to recognise marketing as a driver of growth rather than discretionary cost.
“It is no surprise to see direct marketing amongst the biggest investment priorities, as brands increasingly look for channels that deliver relevance, immediacy and measurable impact. “
Matti Yahav, Chief Marketing Officer, Fiverr
“The most interesting thing in the latest IPA Bellwether report, is where marketers are choosing to put their money. Events and PR are growing because, in a world where anyone can generate almost unlimited content, people are looking for something real. They want trusted voices, shared experiences and communities they can be part of. AI can help us make more, but more content does not automatically create more attention or more trust.
“The same is true for creativity. AI has made it faster and cheaper to turn an idea into a video, an image or a campaign. On Fiverr, demand for AI video creation in the UK has risen by 21%, following a 66% increase last quarter. At the same time, UGC video has risen by 41% in the UK.
“What matters now is the human work around it: the idea, the taste, the judgment and the understanding of the audience. AI can produce ten versions of something in the time it once took to create one. The marketer’s job is deciding which one is worth putting into the world.”
