Advertising spend in the UK continues on an upward curve, with £11.7 billion spent in the first quarter according to the latest AA/WARC Expenditure Report.
And despite it being the start of the great British holiday getaways, we’ve been out asking some of the industry’s leading figures to share their take on the latest readings…
Sandra Wagner, CEO and Founder, AuraVeo
“The accelerating investment into physical touchpoints proves that real-world engagement is a key focus, but consumer expectations have evolved.
“Offline touchpoints can no longer exist as isolated brand moments, they need to act as active gateways into a brand’s digital ecosystem.
“The goal for marketers in 2026 is closing the loop between physical exposure and digital engagement. When you connect offline touchpoints, from high-street OOH to product packaging itself, to seamless digital journeys, brands can capture consumer intent in the moment and build a far more cohesive, accountable picture of customer behaviour.”
Barney Worfolk-Smith, Chief Growth Officer, DAIVID
“The growth channels here are indicative of our experience at DAIVID. Chasing the same audience means producing more creative, faster, and in more formats. That’s exactly where budgets go down the pan.
“We know from our work with telco brands that 43% of TV spend goes on below-average creative. When you’re now splitting budgets across retail media, social, OOH and addressable TV too, that risk multiplies.
“Spend growth is a vanity metric unless you know which of those assets is actually driving outcomes. The brands that will win aren’t the ones spending the most, they’re the ones who know why their creative works before they scale it across all these channels.”
Iwona Mnich, Managing Director & EP, Papaya Films
“Double-digit growth in social, addressable TV and digital OOH points to one clear trend: demand for video is growing – it’s just moved into formats that barely existed a few years ago.
“Brands are chasing targeted, story-led content wherever audiences actually watch, from feeds to screens on the street. That’s a strong signal for production companies heading into the rest of the year.
“On the flip side, total TV growth is being propped up almost entirely by addressable formats, while cinema’s decline shows the old formats aren’t carrying this – companies need to build for where video is actually growing, not where it used to.”
Spencer McPherson, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, StillMoving Media
“The growth we’re seeing across social media, digital out of home and retail media reflects a simple reality: brands need more high-quality content than ever before.
“Every new channel creates another opportunity to connect with audiences, but it also raises the creative bar.
“Success won’t come from simply increasing media spend; it will come from producing ideas and content that are platform-native, emotionally engaging and memorable enough to make every advertising pound work harder.”
Jaye Cowle, CEO & Founder, Launch
“In a climate where growth is still hard to come by, advertisers are upping budgets to chase it. Being smart about how they do that can lead to long-term growth, not just short term revenue.
“So while it’s encouraging to see continued positive growth momentum and ad spend, agencies and brands aren’t necessarily feeling it in terms of measurable results. The simple reason is an increase in costs caused by media inflation.
“Competition has increased and business conditions remain tough. And as a result, advertisers and agencies are continuing to divert their spend toward short-term fixes.
“More often than not, this includes revenue-generating tactics such as search campaigns or social media conversion campaigns that support the discount sales. So, the results of this report are not surprising.
“However, to counter that, social spend is up higher than search. This is something that we’re both advising on and seeing as brands shift their media mix to cheaper awareness campaigns on Meta. And this approach is delivering great results.”
Sam Holland, Sales Director UniLED Software
“It’s encouraging to see continued growth in Q1 2026 across the out-of-home sector with digital once again leading the way.
“However, as ad spend increases, expectations follow suit. Advertisers demand greater transparency and accountability around campaign performance. They want to understand not only where their money is being spent, but also what that investment is delivering and how OOH contributes alongside the rest of the media mix.
“DOOH is already recognised as a channel that offers greater flexibility, enabling advertisers to adapt campaigns in real-time and deliver more relevant, data driven campaigns.
“However, its next phase of growth will be driven by its continuous ability to demonstrate tangible outcomes, giving advertisers the confidence to invest further and helping OOH secure a greater share of media budgets.”
Rikke Wichmann-Bruun, Managing Partner, Worth Your While
“Obviously presence is where I am most excited, given my old’ish heart still beats faster when I see growth in spaces where creativity and craft can and are growing.
“The rise in OOH makes me smile, a 15% growth proves that this medium is still standing tall. The work rewarded at Cannes this year is a testament to this too, where work like Heineken’s Grand Prix winning campaign, Back Market’s pure poster craft, and Plenitude’s clever “Dark Mode” screens were awarded and with one juror even calling it the last medium not yet affected by AI, which matters when so much of what we see now feels shaped by algorithms rather than the physical world.
“Precision is the quieter force behind retail media’s 17.9% growth. With third-party cookies finally dying out, first-party data has stopped being a nice-to-have and become the weapon brands have to take serious, and retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Boots are proving it, using loyalty schemes to target hard and therefore deliver results like Kellogg’s 85% lift on Asda and a 25% ROI lift on Sainsbury’s through Nectar360
“Presence gets attention and precision gets results, and this quarter advertising proved it can deliver both at once.”
Matt Payton, CEO Radiocentre
“In a tough market, it’s incredibly heartening to see spend on online radio advertising up by 22.1% plus a 4.2% rise across total radio. This reflects a vibrant sector that is continuously innovating, but always with audiences in mind.
“What is also encouraging is that this is not simply a story of online listening replacing broadcast radio. Overall growth in the channel demonstrates the strength of audio as a genuinely multiplatform medium, reaching people wherever and however they choose to listen.
“If there is one thing advertisers should take away from these figures, it’s that innovation in audio is helping to attract more investment than ever. That is no accident given that audio is proven to help drive business success, whether the brand is a start-up or a major global advertiser.
“Scale and reach are part of that story, but so is trust. Radio offers advertisers a regulated environment where ads are pre-cleared and it enjoys a uniquely close relationship with audiences who welcome it into their daily lives.
“At a time when consumers have never been more alert to scams and fake news, choosing a medium that is proven to amplify both trust and effectiveness is a very smart use of ad budgets.”
Anthony Clement, Country Manager, impact.com
“There were a few standout numbers for me. The continued growth in retail media is unsurprising, and something we are helping our clients tap into.
“Similarly, the strong performance of social media. This is where the creator economy lives, and as more brands realise its strategic importance to their marketing plans, they are spending big there.
“And finally search, where spend is also up as brands fight the good fight against AI invisibility. But they should be doing more than just pumping more money into search.
“They should also be partnering with the niche sites and communities where the answer engines go to get their answers. That way they can get the same sort of visibility in the answer engines that they have spent years buying in the search engines.”
Suzanna Chaplin, CEO, esbconnect
“The 9.3% rise in Q1 ad spend isn’t the interesting number. The interesting number is where it’s coming from. Retail media up 17.9%, addressable TV up 15.5%, direct mail up 7.9%.
“These are all channels built on knowing who you’re talking to, not just where you’re putting an ad. Search still takes the biggest slice at £4.6 billion, and that’s not a coincidence either.
“Search works because it’s intent-led. Meanwhile, published media and other online display are both down. Formats that rely on broad reach without identity behind them are the ones losing ground.
“The direction of travel is clear. Advertisers are moving spend towards channels where they can identify and target real people based on real signals, not just serve impressions and hope. When consumer spend is down, you need to ensure your spend is efficient and look for the channels that deliver identity and people-based intent.“
Richard Ottoy, SVP Sales, EMEA, Assertive Yield
“The AA/WARC Q1 2026 figures show that advertising growth is increasingly concentrating in channels that offer stronger audience signals, clearer measurement and more responsive activation.
“Retail media grew 17.9%, social media 17.7% and addressable TV 15.5%, while other online display fell 10.7%.
“For publishers, the message is clear: quality content and trusted audiences remain valuable, but they must be supported by a more intelligent and transparent monetisation model.
“Publishers need a real-time understanding of which audiences, formats and demand paths are creating incremental value, rather than relying on delayed reporting or simply adding more partners.
“The opportunity is to make premium open-web inventory easier to evaluate, price and buy. Publishers that combine strong first-party audience strategies with dynamic pricing, efficient supply paths, faster testing and a better user experience will be better positioned to compete for the budgets moving toward measurable, high-performing media environments.”
Marcus Brown, founder & CEO, The Great Pitch Company
“These numbers matter because they reinforce a simple truth: advertising works. A 9.3% increase in spend is not just confidence, it is a commitment to growth.
“Too often, marketing is treated as something to dial up and down with the market. The reality is the opposite. The brands that invest consistently are the ones that build momentum, stay visible and take share when others hesitate.
“At The Great Pitch Company, we see it time and again. Advertising is not a discretionary line on a spreadsheet, it is one of the most powerful levers a business has to grow. The companies leaning in now are not just optimistic, they are positioning themselves to win.
Sam Tester, Chief Revenue Officer, I-media
“These numbers confirm what we’re seeing on the ground every day. Out of home is growing at 15%, with digital out of home outpacing that at 17.6%, and it’s not hard to see why. Advertisers want their brand seen by real people, in real places, reacting in real time.
“That’s exactly what digital out of home delivers: context and moments you can’t skip. Motorway service areas are a perfect example. Drivers arrive, ANPR is triggered, and a well-placed full-motion digital screen serves an ad specific to them – meaning advertisers meet them at exactly the right second in a mindset open to advertising.
“As budgets keep shifting toward channels that prove they work in the real world, we expect this growth to keep building through 2026”
Sarah Lawson Johnston, MD, Global Revenue & Partnerships, Vudoo
“Marketing budgets are proving remarkably resilient, but that increased spend comes with even more accountability, where every channel must now demonstrate clear commercial value.
“With Retail Media continuing its rise alongside strong growth in Social Media and Addressable TV, it’s clear that consumer journeys are becoming further fragmented across a diverse mix of media touchpoints.
“Capturing consumer attention on this journey is merely the starting point. When consumers cross between multiple creators, publishers, and streaming platforms, introducing friction between inspiration and action results in direct revenue drop-off.
“Media spend must move past passive invitations to shop and actively drive in-the-moment conversion.
“Ultimately, the brands making their budgets work hardest this year will be the ones that turn content into seamless, interactive storefronts, turning everyday engagement into measurable transactional outcomes.”
Christoph Berg, Founder and CEO, MINT Square
“Digital out of home (DOOH)’s 17.6% growth in Q1 isn’t just a budget shift; it’s proof that advertisers and agencies are seeing the benefits of programmatic execution in outdoor advertising.
“Outpacing the broader market by +9.3%, DOOH continues to succeed because it bridges the gap between reach and agility. Advertisers get the visual impact of high-profile, physical screens combined with the dynamic creative and contextual targeting of digital.
“Most importantly, programmatic DOOH is changing the dynamic for independent agencies. It removes legacy buying barriers, giving them access to premium inventory without needing huge upfront commitments.”
Sarah Robson, Global Head of Advertising Effectiveness, On Device
“It’s clear marketers are excited by emerging immersive media environments. But as budgets spread across more channels and formats, consumer attention becomes increasingly fragmented, making it harder than ever to understand what’s really driving campaign performance.
“For many brands, improving lower-funnel metrics such as brand consideration is now the biggest challenge. Yet channel-specific metrics like viewability, CTR and completion rates reveal nothing about whether advertising is actually changing how consumers think or feel about a brand.
“To sustain momentum, marketers need to move beyond measuring channels in isolation and instead understand how their entire media mix contributes to brand lift.
“Today’s measurement technology makes that possible, providing robust, cross-channel evidence of what’s working, why it’s working and how to optimise future campaigns. The capability exists; the industry simply needs to make better measurement a priority.”
Mike Craddock, CEO of social-first creator agency NewGen
“For years, the industry has debated whether traditional advertising was on its way out, with many predicting that digital channels would eventually replace TV, radio and out of home altogether. But this latest data tells a more interesting story.
“Rather than choosing one over the other, brands are becoming more confident in building campaigns that blend online and offline channels to reach audiences in different ways.
“The report reinforces something we’ve been seeing for a while: effective campaigns don’t think in silos because consumers certainly don’t.
“Someone might discover a brand through a creator on social media, see it reinforced through digital out of home on their commute and then take action after hearing it mentioned on a podcast or seeing it on TV.
“The channels may be different, but the end-to-end experience should feel connected.
“That’s why the future will be social first, but not social only. Social is where ideas are born and culture is shaped, but most importantly, it’s where consumers discover brands.
“Ideas should seamlessly extend across every touchpoint; creating connected campaigns that reflect the way people move between channels every day.”
Alex Marks, Marketing Director, Posterscope
“The AA/WARC figures reinforce that advertisers are increasingly investing in connected consumer journeys rather than individual media channels.
“Similar levels of growth across digital out of home, retail media and social reflect the way people actually engage with brands today, moving seamlessly between physical and digital environments.
“As investment grows, the brands that will see the greatest returns will be those that think less about channel silos and more about how different touchpoints work together.
“Digital out of home has an increasingly important role to play within that ecosystem, helping brands reach people in context and creating more meaningful connections alongside social, retail media and other digital channels.”
Sonny McLean, Commercial Director, Studio FanClub
“The story isn’t that brands are spending more, it’s that they’re showing up in more places. The challenge for agencies is ensuring ideas don’t become diluted as campaigns stretch across an increasingly fragmented media landscape.
“The best creative platforms are those that feel native in every environment while remaining unmistakably the same brand.”
Piero Pavone, CEO, Preciso
“This is a very strong set of figures, with growth almost everywhere you look, and it reflects what we are seeing in our own business.
“Yes there is a good deal of turmoil in the world, but brands realise that it’s vital to maintain the advertising drumbeat if you want to stay front-of-mind with consumers.
“Another strong showing from Retail Media (up 17.9%) and Addressable TV (up 15.5%). There is plenty of growth left in these channels yet.
“And for a channel that is supposedly being eaten by AI, Search also held up well with 9.8% growth. To me, this says that Search isn’t dying, but rather, evolving.”
Chris Pearce, Group Managing Director, Greenpark
“The latest AA/WARC figures underline the resilience of the UK advertising market, but they also reveal a more fundamental shift in how brands are investing.
“Search remains the largest channel, while retail media, social, addressable TV and digital out-of-home are seeing the fastest growth because they combine audience reach with increasingly sophisticated targeting, measurement and data capabilities.
“What is particularly interesting is that consumers are no longer discovering brands through a single channel. Search engines, social platforms, retailer ecosystems and AI-powered assistants are becoming interconnected discovery environments. As a result, visibility is now the new battleground for brands.
“At Greenpark, we see this as the evolution from traditional search optimisation to broader AI visibility strategies, ensuring brands can be found, understood and recommended wherever consumers seek information.
“The growth in measurable digital channels reflects a wider industry shift: brands are investing not just in media, but in building digital authority, trusted content and data signals that influence both human audiences and AI systems.”
Daniel Pike, CPO, Covatic
“Addressable TV growing at 15.5% while total TV sits at under 1% tells you exactly where buyer confidence is going.
“What spend data alone can’t capture is whether the measurement infrastructure has kept pace, and as budgets concentrate in addressable CTV and online radio, which grew 22.1% in Q1, the industry’s appetite for proof of business outcomes rather than delivery metrics is hardening as fast as the spend itself.”
Joe Procter, Executive Chair, Open Partners
“The latest AA/WARC report reinforces what we see on the ground every day: the market is remarkably buoyant, with digital investment leading the charge.
“Across our ‘Alpha Partners’ – Google, Meta, TikTok, and Amazon – our growth rates continue to outpace industry benchmarks. The brands driving this momentum are those pairing high-quality, scalable creative with sophisticated first-party data management.
“However, paid spend only tells half of the story. Industry reports frequently overlook organic media, where we are witnessing an unprecedented shift toward Large Language Model (LLM) visibility.
“Optimising brands to be cited and recommended by AI engines has transformed almost overnight from an emerging tactic into marketing’s newest frontier, and a board-level strategic imperative.”