Internet boom helps ad spend rise 3%

Advertising spend in the UK rose 3% to £4.2bn in the first quarter of this year, according to the Advertising Association (AA). The increase is the highest since 2005.

The figures are reported in the AA’s Quarterly Survey of Advertising Expenditure, compiled by the World Advertising Research Centre.

The overall increase was helped by a 42% year-on-year increase in internet advertising, up to £648m in the first three months of the year. Cinema was the second-fastest growing medium, rising 9.9%, while outdoor advertising was up 7.7%.

Regional press and business magazines saw the biggest drop in advertising, down 3.8% and 6.6% respectively. Total press advertising was down 3.3% to just under £1.6bn.

The AA is a federation of 31 trade bodies and organisations representing the advertising and marketing industries in the UK.