Advertising expenditure in the UK totalled £3,993 million ($7,293m; €5,958m) in the first quarter of 2005. This represents a year-on-year increase of 5.3% - equivalent to a 3.5% rise in real terms (after adjusting for inflation).

The increase was revealed in the Quarterly Survey of Advertising Expenditure by the Advertising Association which is researched by the World Advertising Research Center.

The media covered by the survey include national and regional newspapers, consumer and business magazines, television, radio, outdoor, cinema, internet and direct mail. The figures shown in the table below exclude expenditure on advertisement production, and on sponsorship and promotions, but include agency commission.

  Q1 2005 adspend Q1 2005 on Q1 2004 % change
 

£m

current prices

constant prices1
National newspapers2 521 1.7 -0.1
Regional newspapers 806 2.3 0.6
Consumer magazines3 194 1.6 -0.2
Business magazines 221 -2.7 -4.3
Total press 1,742 1.4 -0.3
- of which display 926 2.5 0.8
- of which classified 816 0.1 -1.6
Television 1,019 13.6 11.7
Radio 140 1.5 -0.2
Outdoor 213 14.0 12.0
Cinema 34 18.8 16.8
Internet4 210 51.5 48.9
Direct mail 636 -7.2 -8.8
Total measured adspend5 3,993 5.3 3.5

Notes: 
1. Constant price figures are adjusted for inflation using the consumer prices index.
2. Includes supplements. 
3. Excludes supplements.
4. Internet figure is a WARC estimate.
5. Total measured advertising expenditure, excludes directory advertising.

With the exception of business magazines and direct mail, all media produced positive year-on-year growth in the first quarter of 2005 at current prices. Meanwhile, cinema, outdoor and television all achieved double-digit year-on-year increases at current prices in the first three months of 2005 - WARC estimates that the internet medium also achieved this feat.

The Quarterly Survey of Advertising Expenditure is available on annual subscription exclusively from WARC.

Data sourced from the Advertising Association; additional content by WARC staff