Advertising Statistics: (Ref: http://www.adassoc.org.uk/)

Last updated: July 2007

Advertising expenditure in the UK passed £19 billion in 2006 when measured at current prices (i.e. before accounting for inflation). Total UK adspend, is intended to reflect advertising spending in total, rather than media income, and hence includes production costs and advertising agency fees and commission as well as media expenditure.

The press accounted for by far the largest share of total advertising expenditure (43.7%), with television the second largest medium (24.1%), followed by direct mail (12.2%), internet (10.6%), outdoor (5.7%), radio (2.8%) and cinema (1.0%).

In terms of display advertising only (calculated by removing classified advertising expenditure from the figures and counting all internet search advertising as classified advertising), television was the biggest medium with a 34.1% share, with the press taking second place (32.0%), followed by direct mail (17.2%), outdoor (8.0%), radio (4.0%), internet (3.4%) and cinema (1.4%).

The press sector as a whole declined by 2.7%, with regional newspapers, consumer magazines and business magazines all suffering decreased levels of adspend last year compared with 2005. However, not all press sectors saw falls in expenditure, as adspend in directories grew by 3.8% to £1,174 million at current prices, whilst national newspapers rose marginally to £1,914 million.

Broadcast media also suffered with television expenditure falling 4.7% to £4,594 million at current prices – its first annual decline since 2001 – and radio adspend down 7.7% on 2005. Expenditure on direct mail also decreased, down 2.1% to £2,322 million, but cinema advertising remained at £188 million.

The two largest gains in percentage terms were recorded by the outdoor advertising sector, which increased 4.0% to £1,084 million, and the internet. Online rose 47% to £2,016 million, achieving a share of total UK adspend in excess of 10% for the first time.

Full details appear in The Advertising Statistics Yearbook 2007, available from World Advertising Research Center, Farm Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 1EJ, Tel: 01491 411 000 ( £225 per copy, plus p&p).