COVID-19 to cut UK advertising by 16.7% in 2020

An overview of forecast UK advertising expenditure by medium in 2020 as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

UK advertising investment is set to fall 16.7% – or £4.2bn – from its 2019 peak to a total of £21.13bn this year, according to the latest projections in April from the AA/WARC Expenditure Report. This compares to projections prior to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak that forecast adspend would grow 5.2% to over £26bn in 2020.

This dip in investment will be focused primarily in the second and third quarters of 2020, though the aftershocks are expected to last into the fourth and early 2021. While growth is anticipated for 2021 as a whole, it...

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