World Cup spells win for struggling advertising market
The ad sector is set to score a much-needed goal this winter with the Qatar World Cup driving up advertising spend.
According to new data from the Advertising Association (AA), ad spend for the final quarter is set to climb by 4.5 per cent from last year’s record high, to a total of £9.5bn. This would also set a new record level of investment during the festive period.
Although the advertising trade body said linear TV advertising spend is expected to remain flat during the quarter at £1.7bn, it reckons the biggest winners will be video-on-demand services, like Amazon Video or ITV Hub, which are set to rise ahead of the wider market, with expected growth of 4.2 per cent.
Liz Duff, head of commercial and operations at London-based media planning firm Total Media, said it was no surprise that spending was on the up as brands enter “unfamiliar territory” of a Christmas World Cup.
“Some major brands tend to spend less in Q4, but there are new opportunities to advertise, so they are running campaigns to ensure brand awareness and continue brand loyalty as we enter a recession and economic uncertainty in 2023,” she told Morning Wire
Analysts at UBS said that ITV in particular has an “upside risk” from the football tournament, citing broadcasters’ deteriorating ad market share but ripe opportunity for eyeballs with international matches.
Overall the report, which collects revenue data directly from media owners, has forecasted that the value of the UK’s advertising market will grow by 9.2 per cent in 2022, to a total of £34.9bn.
World Advertising Research Center (WARC), which co-wrote the report with AA, explained that this near 10 per cent climb would be “impressive” given the “deteriorating economic backdrop” that has dominated much of the narrative in 2022.