UK Magazine Ad Spend Predicted to Rise in 2015

[responsive]rolledupmagazine[/responsive]Following several years of declining ad spend, the positive forecast for 2015 is welcome news to the UK magazine industry.

“Advertising expenditure in magazine brands dipped 6.7% year-on-year in Q2 2014 to £254m, according to the latest data from the Advertising Association/Warc Expenditure Report, released this week,” writes Suzy Young in MediaTel’s Newsline. “This is the 35th consecutive quarter of decline for the sector, with growth last recorded in Q2 2005.”

“But, according to the latest forecast, ad spend growth should finally return for magazine brands – including both print and digital platforms – this time next year,” she continues.

The upbeat news is based on projections from the Advertising Association’s Warc Expenditure Report that was released last month and details print and digital ad spend across all sectors of the UK economy.

The growth is expected mainly to come from digital advertising, which has been registering consistent growth, while declines in print display and classified advertising should slow.

“This rise for digital should also stem the sector’s overall decline in advertising revenues. We predict a rise of 0.1% in 2015 – magazine ad spend’s first year-on-year growth since 2004,” Young continues.

Commenting on the AA/Warc Expenditure Report, PPA CEO Barry McIlheney said: “The projected rise in magazine media advertising spend for 2015 is testament to the increasing confidence that advertisers have in today’s modern, multi-platform magazine brands.”

In a second article by Young, she notes that total UK advertising (not just the magazine sector) is set to “accelerate way beyond levels recorded prior to the financial crisis.”

“This is no small feat, as the recession in 2008/9 was the sharpest since the AA/Warc began collecting quarterly ad spend data back in 1982,” Young notes.