AA/WARC: UK ad spend hits £10.6bn in Q1 2025 with growth led by search & online display
Posted on Friday 01 August 2025 | IAB UK
The latest Advertising Association / WARC Expenditure Report shows UK advertising spend rose by 8% in Q1 to a total of £10.6bn
The latest figures from the Advertising Association and WARC show that UK advertising spend hit £10.6bn in the first quarter of 2025, driven by strong performance in search and online formats.
Search - including retail media - grew by 12.3% YoY in Q1, while spend on online display rose by 10.1%, social media by 14.7% and online radio by 16.4%. Both channels benefited from advertisers bringing budgets forward, with brands seeking short-term, agile formats amid global trade uncertainty and new US tariffs. You can find out more here.
Commenting on the findings, Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive of the Advertising Association, said: “Further growth in the first quarter of 2025 is welcome, particularly following the launch of the UK Government’s new industrial strategy which recognises advertising as a priority sector.
“The announcement that brand advertising will be exempt from the incoming Less Healthy Food restrictions has also provided important clarity for advertisers, ahead of the industry’s agreement to implement these from October 2025.”
Looking ahead, full-year ad spend is forecast to rise by 6.8% to £45.4bn - up slightly from the 6.4% predicted in April. That represents 3.5% real-terms growth, with spend on video-on-demand (VOD) expected to rise 10.1%, search by 9.4% and online display by 9.2%.
Despite the UK’s GDP growth expected to remain flat at 1.1%, the outlook for advertising remains positive, with the UK ad market forecast to grow by 5.6% to £48.0bn in 2026, despite a recent uptick in UK inflation.
Media | Q1 2025 | 2025 forecast year-on-year | Percentage point (pp) change in 2025 forecast vs April | 2026 forecast year-on-year % change | Percentage point (pp) change in 2026 forecast vs April |
Search | 12.3% | 9.4% | 1.2pp | 7.0% | 0.2pp |
Online display* | 10.1% | 9.2% | 0.0pp | 6.8% | -0.1pp |
TV | -2.1% | -0.9% | -1.8pp | 4.0% | 0.0pp |
of which VOD | 5.4% | 10.1% | -7.0pp | 14.1% | 0.6pp |
Out of home | 1.0% | 3.1% | 0.4pp | 4.1% | -0.2pp |
of which digital | 1.6% | 3.7% | 0.5pp | 5.5% | -0.3pp |
Online classified* | -7.6% | -4.7% | -2.5pp | -2.5% | -1.6pp |
Direct mail | 3.6% | -1.6% | 2.1pp | -2.0% | 0.2pp |
National newsbrands | -8.2% | -5.0% | -1.7pp | -0.7% | 0.6pp |
of which online | -4.5% | -1.7% | -2.5pp | 0.9% | 0.2pp |
Radio | 0.4% | 1.2% | -0.6pp | 2.1% | -0.2pp |
of which online | 16.4% | 12.2% | 7.2pp | 5.5% | 1.7pp |
Magazine brands | -11.1% | -6.8% | -1.5pp | -1.9% | 0.5pp |
of which online | -13.9% | -6.4% | -1.9pp | -1.2% | 0.2pp |
Regional newsbrands | -6.8% | -4.4% | -1.0pp | -0.5% | 0.6pp |
of which online | 2.6% | 0.8% | -0.1pp | 1.6% | 0.2pp |
Cinema | 19.2% | 9.0% | 1.9pp | 2.2% | -1.8pp |
TOTAL UK ADSPEND | 8.0% | 6.8% | 0.4pp | 5.6% | 0.0pp |
Note: Video-on-demand (VOD), digital revenues for newsbrands, magazine brands, and radio are also included within online display and classified totals. Online classified also includes revenues for national and regional newsbrands, as well as B2B magazine brands. Care should be taken to avoid double counting these series. Online radio includes targeted in-stream radio/audio advertising sold by UK commercial radio companies, together with online S&P inventory. TV VOD includes broadcaster (BVOD), advertiser-funded (AVOD) and subscription (SVOD) services which include advertising. | |||||
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