UK marketing industry leaders have reacted to the publication of the latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report for Q3 2024, which showed that UK ad spend rose 9.7% across the quarter.
Phil Duffield, VP UK, The Trade Desk
“AA/WARC’s latest report confirms digital advertising’s role as a key driver of business growth, with brands increasing spend across all channels to align with evolving consumer behaviour.
“Research from The Trade Desk shows omnichannel campaigns are 1.5x more effective than disconnected ones*, proving that seamless, audience-first strategies drive impact. With strong ad spend forecasts for 2025, brands that connect channels effectively to reflect consumer behaviour will see the greatest returns.
“To maximise return on ad spend, advertisers must prioritise standardised cross-channel measurement to unlock the full potential of data-driven insights and identify what is and isn’t working, while optimising in real time.”
(*All figures based on research conducted by The Trade Desk and PA Consulting and Brainsights in May 2024.)
Ian Stevens, Chief Investment Officer, Wavemaker
“The findings of the AA/WARC Q3 2024 report should give the advertising industry reasons for cautious optimism. While digital growth remains strong, and traditional channels stable, the underlying trends are more nuanced. Online display continues to rise, fuelled by AI investment, SME support, and diversification beyond Meta and TikTok.
“It’s also promising to see established media channels evolving their offerings into digital equivalents. This shows that fragmentation and proliferation offer opportunities to leverage established platforms to reach more precise audiences, and opens up opportunities to deliver innovation, creativity and further investment. Additionally, BVOD, digital audio, digital OOH performed well in 2024 and will continue to do so this year.
“Looking ahead, 2025 will bring further growth in commerce, becoming even more interesting with the impact of the HFSS advertising legislation.”
Brenda Imeson, Director of Strategy, Brave Bison Performance
“This data for Q3 2024 reveals some fascinating shifts in the UK advertising landscape and to see growth in the sector is really encouraging. But the main stand out is that digital channels are clearly driving the market’s expansion. Even within the traditional media categories, there is a clear digital transformation story – online formats outperformed their analogue counterparts across TV, radio, news brands, and magazines.
“As with all topline spend reports we can observe this growth of digital but only speculate as to what is driving this continual shift and increase in spend. Digital ad prices are rising but what is particularly noteworthy is the adoption of AI tools in driving online ad format growth. What shouldn’t be overlooked is the growth in new advertisers with smaller budgets who can still make an impact using digital. This longtail is adding to the numbers year on year.
“Though the report rightly flags economic uncertainty as a potential brake on growth, performance and direct marketing will remain resilient so there is optimism in the year ahead for moderate growth.”
Gideon Adey, Client Services Director at UniLED Software
“As with the IPA Bellwether report last week, we’re seeing a much-welcomed renewed confidence in the ad industry’s ability to drive business/brand growth. With OOH continuing its strong performance and double-digit growth, driven by increased digitisation of the medium, and the increased value that Digital Out of Home (DOOH) can deliver
“However, a razor-sharp focus on measurement will always follow close behind an uptick in ad spend. OOH and DOOH are trusted mediums that deliver (and over-deliver) against their budgets, but brands will want tangible reassurance that their +10.3% is driving an ad campaign’s overall success.
“The continued growth in DOOH in terms of numbers of frames and the impacts they deliver, is allowing for an increase in the broadcast use of DOOH competing with any other channel in terms of reach. Whilst the flexibility of DOOH leads to an increase in the use of data-driven planning – specifically behavioural data to maximise OOH/DOOH’s value to advertisers, allowing for more nuanced and targeted campaigns – planning both geographically and temporally, with even more opportunities being delivered outside of London.
“We have also seen a resurgence and refinement of Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM) and econometric techniques. Where granular data is used in these models more accurate ROI measurement for OOH is achieved and a better understanding of the full value the medium delivers.
“The value driven by DOOH, more nuanced planning and buying, and better measurement of ROI, all rely on knowing exactly what DOOH ran, and where, to truly measure the impact and increasing value of the medium.“
Mike Follett, CEO and founder, Lumen Research
“Increased ad spend and strong forecasts for growth in 2025 will leave marketers feeling optimistic for the year ahead, but a glaring question remains — are investments in advertising delivering attentional value for money? The most expensive ad in the world is the one no one looks at.
“At the end of last year, Lumen partnered with Ebiquity, the leading in media audit, to conduct a meta-analysis of econometric studies from 141 brands across 10 media channels. Ebiquity calculated the average incremental profit delivered by each media channel. Lumen calculated the incremental attention of each channel. The result was a near perfect correlation between real human attention and ROI profit.*
“To put it simply, attention predicts profit. Looking at media optimisation through the lens of real human attention is the best way for marketers to avoid wastage and deliver increased sales. That’s true value for money. ”
(*Findings based on research conducted by Ebiquity and Lumen Research issued in October 2024.)
Will Frappell, Chief Growth Officer at Charlie Oscar
“The latest AA/WARC data reinforces a clear trend (that we are also seeing across our client group at Charlie Oscar): in times of economic uncertainty, advertisers gravitate to digital channels that offer more easily trackable ROI and measurable impact. The continued adoption of AI-driven automation within digital buying platforms is accelerating this shift, making it easier than ever to optimise campaigns at scale.
While overall investment confidence remains cautious, the brands that will win in 2025 are those that can measure ROI holistically across the full funnel, ensuring that every pound spent delivers maximum value. Marketing teams who integrate performance-led digital strategies with a clear measurement framework whilst continuing to grow their owned and earned channels, will be best positioned to drive sustainable growth in the year ahead.”
