Advertising spend should increase next year at its fastest rate in four years, as two leading media-buying agencies today hiked their forecasts in a boost for hopes of economic recovery.
Magna Global, a division of US giant Interpublic, said UK advertising growth should hit 4.6% in 2014, up from a healthy 4.2% this year, thanks to big events such as the World Cup in Brazil.
A key driver is “mobile social media” as people increasingly use Facebook and Twitter on phones and tablets, according to Magna, which estimates that ad revenue from mobile social media has leapt fourfold this year.
Magna, whose parent company counts Microsoft and Travelodge as clients, said social ads brought in £500 million in Britain across mobile and the web during 2013, and believes that should more than double by 2018. The upbeat outlook was echoed by Zenith Optimedia, which upgraded its forecast for global ad growth next year to 5.3% — only slightly lower than Magna’s bullish 6.5% estimate.
Zenith, whose clients include O2 and Royal Bank of Scotland, also credited the rise of mobile and the improving UK economy, saying the period between 2014 and 2016 was shaping up to be the “strongest sustained period of growth in 10 years”.
