NDA gathers more reaction to the latest IPA Bellwether report for Q2 2025…
Phil Duffield, VP UK, The Trade Desk
While marketing budgets rebounding is positive, it’s vital that marketers focus on long-term growth instead of chasing short-term wins. The real path to sustainable success lies in investing in high-impact, premium trusted environments where audiences are truly engaged – and the open internet is where that happens.
From streaming TV, digital audio and journalism, the open internet is where the majority of premium content lives and consumers spend most of their time. Advertising spend must reflect this. Brands need to forgo the temptation of cheap reach, invest in premium channels and an omnichannel strategy to reach audiences where they’re most engaged, while measuring what matters most: brand growth.
Rachel Macey, Managing Director, Kantar Media TGI UK & Europe
It’s encouraging to see the rebound in marketing budgets. However, there’s a risk that marketers are chasing short-term wins through direct tactics over long-term brand building based on research and insight.
Direct marketing and sales promotions might drive a sale, but they won’t result in customer loyalty without a deeper understanding of what makes your audience tick. Some marketers might argue they can use first-party data to achieve this, but it’s important to supplement your own data with third-party insight to make budgets work as hard as possible. This will help you to build a more detailed picture of your audience’s behaviour and preferences, so you can identify and target customers now, then track and adapt to their behaviour when it evolves.
It’s also worth noting that while spending on online media has gone up, other types of media saw significant cuts. That means non-digital media need to work harder and smarter to prove how they can add unique value and engage audiences in ways that support digital-first media strategies.
Mike Follett, CEO and Founder, Lumen Research
Whilst rising budgets are a positive sign of confidence, brands must question whether flatlining spend on main media is wise. Spending on short-term media suggests marketers are losing out on what truly matters: attention.
Channels such as TV and DooH are some of the best places to build brand recall & awareness. With uncertainty prevailing, these channels are critical to long-term brand building. So instead of pulling back from these channels, marketers must optimise them with the best quality insights to engage audiences with the highest impact.
This is where “super signal” data on attention can give marketers a competitive edge. Marketers that understand this and invest in data-driven decisions to capture attention, will be the ones to drive the most ROI for the coming quarter.
Jim Rudall, Regional Director, EMEA at Intuit Mailchimp
It is encouraging to see a strong rebound in marketing budgets in Q2, as revealed by the latest IPA Bellwether Report. This is perhaps reflective of the high number of opportunities marketers have to engage with consumers as spring turns to summer. According to Mailchimp’s New Ecommerce Calendar report, there are up to 15 personal, cultural and community-driven moments to connect with audiences on a monthly basis. For May and June in particular, there is a swathe of opportunities available that will undoubtedly have driven the rise in marketing confidence and, in turn, spend.
Major entertainment events and music festivals, for example, prompted 15% of shoppers to make purchases in the last two years. With Eurovision and Glastonbury falling alongside major sporting events such as Royal Ascot and the FIFA Club World Cup, there was no shortage of opportunities to capitalise on this in Q2. The fact that the latest IPA Bellwether Report finds budgets were raised for events suggests that marketers took this opportunity with both hands.
It is also worth commenting on the rise in sales promotions. Marketers must craft the right value proposition, but that doesn’t always mean offering hefty discounts. According to Mailchimp research, 39% of shoppers worldwide are overwhelmed by the volume of sales and promotions, and 7 in 10 UK shoppers believe discounts around retail moments are often exaggerated. Instead, loyalty rewards can be particularly impactful for UK consumers: 43% were influenced by loyalty reward perks to make a purchase in the last two years, well above the global average of 33%. It is something to keep in mind for the quarters to come as marketers strive to maximise ROI.
Ellie Lane, head of client strategy, Quantcast UK
With the arrival of warmer weather in Q2, consumer behaviour shifted, prompting advertisers to increase their spend sooner than expected. Combine this with Easter, sporting events such as the Grand National, and the start of festival season, and you’ve got a perfect storm for heightened advertising activity.
Alongside these seasonal drivers, AI is reshaping the advertising industry as we know it. It is making media buying more efficient, while generative AI tools have dramatically sped up the creation of digital assets, making it easier than ever to launch campaigns and change accompanying visuals. Over the past year, the consensus around AI has shifted from something people feared to widespread adoption, exemplified by tools such as ChatGPT. This swift embrace is transforming how brands approach every stage of the advertising process.
Looking ahead, we’re likely to see ad budgets increase as excitement builds around a summer filled with women’s sport and the usual packed festival calendar. The Women’s Euros are well under way and the Women’s Rugby World Cup is just around the corner, while the likes of Boomtown and Reading and Leeds Festivals will prove to be major advertising moments.
Conrad Arnavutian, Director, MikeWorldWide UK
The Q2 2025 rebound in UK marketing budgets is a welcome sign. Amid socioeconomic fragility, brands are actively prioritising audience connection – a vote of confidence for the role of marketing to drive growth. However, with pressure still high, delivering results demands a considered and pragmatic approach to long-term brand building.
While company-level optimism is on the rise, the persistence of industry-wide caution highlights a deeper issue. Our recent research revealed that whilst brands may be confident in their voice, true boldness remains out of reach. Reputational risk, leadership hesitancy and structural barriers continue to limit the speed and scale of brand ambition. This friction – between rising investment and cautious execution – points to the urgent need not just for capability, but also confidence.
PR and events remain critical in bridging this gap, helping brands build emotional connection and credibility amid economic and cultural headwinds. As we look ahead, the projected uplift in 2026–28 is encouraging. But to fully seize that momentum, brands must invest not only in budget but in the operational speed, leadership vision and data-led tools that will allow them to act with clarity, agility and purpose.
