New Report Suggests Optimistic Outlook for Ad Spend

According to a new edition of the services giant PWC's well-regarded annual Global Entertainment and Media Outlook report, the overall UK advertising market is forecast to grow by a healthy (almost) 5% between now and 2015, as brands boost their investments in digital marketing.  

The top line spend on internet marketing in the UK is forecast to grow by over 11% between now and 2015, the only advertising sector that is forecast to grow in double figures, says the report.  

However, the makeup of that spend is, unsurprisingly, changing.  Up until now, paid for search engine marketing (or PPC) has been the major driver of the continuing high growth in digital marketing, but PWC see that role swinging more towards social media.  Search remains a growth market, but one that is no longer the poster child for new development and investment.  It also sees growing investment in online classifieds, driven at least in some part by the increasing drive towards the local web, pushed by, amongst others, major search engines such as Google.  

Head of entertainment and media at PWC, Phil Stokes, says, "Product placement, sophisticated social media campaigns and internet advertising are all becoming part of truly multimedia campaigns for advertisers who are themselves increasingly involved in a dynamic conversation with their customers."

Translation: We think this is a really exciting time to be in internet marketing, with new media and opportunities opening up all the time.  Surprisingly enough, we agree!