UK ad investment in TV grew by over £1 billion last year, as TV as revenues saw a dramatic recovery from the depths of the pandemic, according to Thinkbox, a trade group representing commercial TV in the UK.
This figure, which includes all ad spend across traditional TV and CTV services, represents 24 percent year-on-year growth compared with 2020. This increase took total TV advertising investment in the UK up to £5.46 billion, a record year according to Thinkbox.
And Lindsay Clay, CEO of Thinkbox, said that most encouragingly this growth appears to be more than just a bounce back from 2020, but the result of new interest and confidence in all forms of TV.
“Yes, the short-term bounce back from the pandemic, but also its revitalisation by new advertisers; established advertisers re-evaluating TV; and advanced advertising solutions making it an attractive investment for a wider range of businesses,” said Clay.
Enter the online natives
Thinkbox pointed towards supporting data from Nielsen Ad Intel to back up this claim. Nielsen said that all brand categories grew their TV ad investment in 2021, but that the biggest growth came from online-born businesses.
Total TV investment by online-born businesses increased by 42 percent in 2021, accounting for £1.12 billion of total TV spend.
It’s important to remember that while the term ‘online-born businesses’ can sometimes bring to mind D2c brands launched via social advertising, a number of brands which fall under this category are TV mainstays in the UK – the likes of Compare The Market, Moonpig, GoCompare, and Expedia. So some of this growth is a result of these brands, already heavily invested in TV, spending even more.
But a good portion of growth also seems to be the result of new entrants. Nielsen Ad Intel’s data shows that in 2021, 1,286 advertisers either spend on TV for the first time, or returned after an absence of more than five years. This is significantly about the five year average between 2015-2019 of 841.
And within the overall segment of online-born businesses, the fastest growing sub-categories are those which have seen a flurry of new entrants over the past few years: food/delivery and subscription, online marketplaces, and finance.
Supply and demand starts to bite
Lindsay Clay added that this growth in advertiser demand, coupled with a return to pre-pandemic viewing habits, is leading to a rise in TV ad prices. And these price rises will have contributed to overall growth in ad investment.
But Clay maintained that while TV advertising is becoming more expensive, it still offers “incredible value”.
“What TV continues to offer advertisers is unrivalled: huge numbers watching on a big screen with the sound on in a high quality, brand-safe, fraud-free environment,” said Clay.
