• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, June 19, 2013

The pace of ad spending in the UK is picking up. Measured media expenditures in the region are expected to climb more than 3% this year to approximately $20.5 billion.

If the GroupM forecast proves accurate, spending growth in the UK this year would surpass last year’s growth rate of just over 2% -- a modest increase that was aided by the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

The 2013 UK projection is similar to the moderate rate of growth anticipated in North America, but well ahead of expected ad investment growth in the Eurozone, where GroupM is predicting a 4% decline in spending.

The study -- part of GroupM’s “This Year, Next Year” series of market forecasts -- also projected that U.K. ad spending in 2014 would increase 3.5% to an estimated $21.1 billion.

“In a slow-growth world, the U.K. is one of the leading sources of new advertising demand,” stated GroupM futures director Adam Smith. “Wage growth and consumer spending remain depressed, but advertisers continue to invest into productive and diverse digital media.”

According to the report, digital spending will grow 12% to about $8.9 billion in 2013 and is expected to reach $9.9 billion in 2014 -- up 11%.

As in many markets, print media in the UK remain under pressure, with advertising in newspapers and magazines expected to drop 8% this year to about $4.1 billion. A further 10% drop is expected next year.

“U.K. print brands are active digital innovators, but we estimate this currently retrieves at best a quarter of the ad investment departing their physical formats,” Smith added.

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