Who spent where in 2021?

UK adspend grew strongly in 2021, as businesses stepped up their recovery plans coming out of the pandemic; data from Nielsen shows who were the biggest spenders in each medium.

Why it matters 

Knowing the brands or organisations featuring most prominently in each medium tells us something about the nature of the world and the tactical adjustments being made by advertisers. For example, with gyms closed Peloton saw a gap in the market and made a play to fill the fitness void with a robust spend in digital display in 2021. And during the ongoing pandemic, HM Government and Public Health England were spending heavily in press, radio and out-of-home (OOH). 

The top five advertisers by medium 

TV

• Procter & Gamble
• Sky
• Unilever
• Reckitt & Benckiser
• Amazon

Press

• Public Health England
• Sainsbury’s 
• Imagine Group
• Tesco
• HM Government

Radio 

• HM Government
• Camelot
• McDonald’s
• Sky
• Tesco

OOH

• McDonald’s
• Public Health England 
• Sky
• Tesco
• Coca-Cola

Cinema

• Google
• Amazon
• Sky
• McDonald’s
• Tiffany

Digital display* 

• Peloton Interactive
• Amazon
• eBay
• Hello Fresh
• Marks & Spencer

*excludes search and paid social 

Sourced from Nielsen [Image: Pexels]