Advertising and marketing in the UK: industry profile

The UK advertising and marketing industry is the largest in Europe, according to Statista, and was identified as a key "frontier industry" with "particularly high growth potential" in the government’s June 2025 Creative Industries Sector Plan.

Advertising Association data show that in 2024, 3.5m UK businesses relied on advertising services, collectively spending an estimated £66.6bn. Of this, £42.6bn was media spend, £7.4bn went to agencies and production, and £16.6bn to in-house marketing professionals.

Exports of UK advertising services were worth £17.9bn in 2024, second only to the US. That said, the government point out that "currently only a third of UK advertising firms export, meaning there is untapped potential for growth in the sector", and call on more advertising businesses to "explore their export potential".

Lately, the industry has demonstrated impressive resilience, despite challenging economic conditions. A selection of statistics on the performance of the UK's advertising sector from 2021 to 2024 is set out in the table below.

Although it should be noted that high inflation has at times eroded real growth – nominal ad spend growth of 6.1% in 2023 masked a 1.2% contraction in real terms, for example – more recent performance has been robust even after accounting for inflation.

Full-year statistics for 2025 have yet to be finalised at the time of writing, but available indicators point to strong performance that year. IBISWorld estimates that advertising agencies' combined revenue reached £45.4bn, whilst Advertising Association/WARC data show UK ad spend rose by 11.4% year-on-year in Q3 2025 and is estimated to have increased by 10.1% to £46.9bn for the year as a whole.

Momentum is forecast to continue in 2026, with spend projected to rise a further 7.5% to exceed £50bn. This positive outlook is reinforced by the results of ISBA’s 2026 Media Budgets Survey, with 65% of respondents expecting to increase their total marketing budgets in 2026, including 19% anticipating a significant rise.

That said, the industry will have to navigate various trends and shifts — from the rise of AI to regulatory changes — which will present both opportunities and challenges. These are discussed in more detail below.

Key categories of service providers in the industry include:

• Creative and brand agencies (focused on developing advertising ideas and content, and/or brand identity);
• Media agencies (specialists in planning and buying media space);
• Public relations (PR) firms (focused on managing brand reputation, press relations, crisis communication, and so on);
• Market research and insight providers (offering research, data analytics, customer insight, brand tracking and strategic market intelligence);
• Specialist digital providers (such as social media or influencer marketing agencies, content marketing agencies, and performance marketing agencies).

In practice, for example, an advertising campaign might involve a creative agency for concept and production, a media agency for placement across TV, online and print, and possibly specialist agencies for social media, PR, or experiential marketing.

However, it is important to note that many large agency groups offer integrated services spanning across the above categories. In recent years traditional boundaries between services have become increasingly blurred, with clients often seeking more integrated marketing solutions.

Segmenting the UK advertising market by channel is becoming increasingly complex. Historically distinct media categories are converging as the boundaries between channels blur, and publishers and broadcasters adopt multi-platform strategies. In this context, IAB UK argue that future media planning will focus less on platforms and more on ad formats, content quality and audience fit.

Difficult as they may be to neatly define, however, some of the main channels are roughly outlined below.

Digital advertising is by far the largest segment. As MarketingIQ note, search and online display (including social) together now account for more than 70% of total advertising spend. Meanwhile, retail media (advertising on retail e-commerce sites or apps) is a fast-growing sub-segment, reaching £1.5bn in the first half of 2025. In-game marketing is also increasingly significant.

Television remains important but is evolving into a broader audio-visual ecosystem spanning linear TV, broadcaster video-on-demand (VoD), connected TV, and platforms such as YouTube. While linear TV spend is declining, addressable and connected TV look set to grow strongly.

Out-of-home advertising (encompassing billboard and poster advertising, digital screens in public places, public transport ads, and so on) has rebounded post-COVID, with spend forecast at £1.5bn in 2026, supported by advancements in digital screens and real-time targeting.

By contrast, print channels (magazines, newspapers, etc.) continue to decline, though print advertisements still play some part in many advertising campaigns.

Other niche channels include radio and cinema.

Regulatory pressure on the UK advertising and marketing industry has intensified over the past 12–18 months, increasing compliance risk across data, content and consumer protection.

For instance, the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 aligned maximum Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) fines with UK GDPR levels — raising penalties to the greater of £17.5m or 4% of global turnover. This raises the stakes for non-compliant email/SMS marketing, telemarketing and tracking practices, and increases the need for operational controls that stand up to regulatory challenge.

In addition, as of April 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority now has direct fining powers of up to 10% of global turnover for unfair commercial practices, targeting issues such as "drip pricing", fake reviews and "dark patterns".

Meanwhile, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has expanded its proactive oversight through AI-driven "Active Ad Monitoring", scanning up to three million online ads annually, and is taking a strong interest in areas including influencer ad disclosure and misleading environmental claims.

Product- and audience-based restrictions are also expanding. As of January 2026, there are new restrictions on the advertising of food which are high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS), with a 9pm watershed on television, and a ban on paid-for online advertising (subject to exemptions). This development has the potential to inhibit campaigns in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market, a key revenue driver for agencies. That said, there is the option of pivoting to "brand-only" advertising (promoting a food brand generically without showing specific less healthy products).

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the industry, embedding itself across the value chain from insight generation to media buying to creative production.

Machine learning already underpins programmatic ad buying and performance optimisation, whilst generative AI tools can produce text, imagery and video at scale. Advertisers and marketers are using these systems to accelerate production workflows and generate multiple creative variants, as well as to facilitate hyper-personalisation, agentic media planning and more.

Meanwhile, with AI summaries becoming ubiquitous, clickthrough rates are declining markedly, prompting a shift from SEO towards "generative engine optimisation" (GEO). Brands are also beginning to partner directly with AI companies: IAB UK forecast that by 2030 around a third of search advertising spend could be redirected towards AI-powered "answer engines", as consumers discover brands in radically different ways.

However, there are lingering concerns — for instance around transparency, intellectual property rights, bias, privacy and environmental impact. The Advertising Association’s Best Practice Guide for the Responsible Use of Generative AI (2026) provides some guidance for businesses faced with such issues. It recommends, for example, that AI use is disclosed where omission could mislead consumers.

Several industry leaders — such as Cristina Lawrence, Chief Social & Innovation Officer at Razorfish — have emphasised that AI should be treated as a tool, not a substitute for human judgement, strategy and creativity.

Shifts in consumer behaviour are redefining how and where advertising works.

Audiences are increasingly digitally-oriented, multi-platform, and selective about their media exposure, with ad avoidance — through ad-blockers, skipping and subscription services — now commonplace. In response, brands are investing in less interruptive formats such as branded content and community-led engagement strategies that blur the boundaries between advertising and entertainment.

So-called micro-communities are becoming central, with brands prioritising meaningful relationships over product-led messaging as consumers increasingly gravitate towards smaller, purpose-driven groups that offer belonging. In this context, businesses are seeking to capitalise on the strong appeal of personalities in advertising, and influencer marketing is continuing to grow in significance — though audiences are said to be increasingly discerning with regard to influencer content, meaning that authenticity and credibility are key.

At the same time, concerns about smartphone overuse and mental health, particularly among younger cohorts, may accelerate demand for healthier digital experiences and stronger platform safeguards.

Looking ahead, IAB UK argue that traditional age-based targeting will be "unfit for purpose" by 2030. Older consumers are expected to adopt "youth" trends and technologies, requiring brands to appeal across generations through shared interests and values rather than simple demographic categories. Targeting is therefore shifting towards interest- and community-based approaches, underpinned by data-driven personalisation and immersive technologies.

A growing focus on sustainability is re-shaping the advertising industry on two interconnected fronts: the substance of advertising campaigns and the conduct of the industry itself.

Consumers increasingly expect brands to reflect environmentally conscious values in their campaigns. According to IAB UK, by 2030, businesses — not just governments — will be expected to lead on sustainability. Here, authenticity and clarity are vital to avoiding accusations of "greenwashing".

There is also growing scrutiny of the environmental footprint and governance of advertising itself. Initiatives such as Ad Net Zero and its Global Media Sustainability Framework aim to standardise emissions reporting and improve transparency. Meanwhile, tools such as AdGreen’s Carbon Calculator for Advertising Production support more rigorous impact assessment. Notably, 62% of Ad Net Zero supporters report stronger client relationships as a result of sustainability action.

The size and diversity of the UK advertising and marketing industry means that any list of notable players will not be fully representative or comprehensive.

That said, some examples of noteworthy players are set out below.

• Brave Bison – London-based company working across social media management, influencer marketing, performance marketing, and more.
• Croud – digital performance marketing agency headquartered in London.
• Ebiquity – marketing, media and analytics consultancy with a strong presence in media performance and procurement advisory.
• Lucky Generals – UK-founded independent creative agency known for strategically-led creative campaigns for major consumer brands.
• M+C Saatchi Group – founded in London in 1995; remains one of the UK’s best-known agency brands.
• Mission Group – UK-based marketing communications group comprising a portfolio of specialist agencies across advertising, branding, digital, PR and events.
• Mother – independent creative agency founded in London in 1996; known for high-profile, brand-building campaigns.
• MSQ Partners – independent UK marketing group bringing together creative, media, data and PR agencies under a single structure.
• S4 Capital – digital-first marketing services company, focusing on programmatic media, data, content and digital transformation.
• WPP plc – the UK’s largest and most globally significant advertising and communications group.

ICAEW’s Library & Information Service can provide information on UK and Irish participants in the advertising and marketing industry via its wide range of company information services. This includes:

• Information on company acquisitions in the sector
• Private company transaction multiples
• Company data
• Beta values for companies and the sector
• P/E ratios for companies and the sector

For more information, please contact our enquiry team on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or at library@icaew.com to discuss your requirements.

• Advertising Association (AA)
• British Interactive Media Association (BIMA)
• Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)
• Data & Marketing Association (DMA)
• Design & Art Direction (D&AD)
• Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA)
• Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA)
• Interactive Advertising Bureau UK (IAB UK)
• Outsmart

• European Advertising Standards Alliance (EASA)
• International Advertising Association (IAA)
• International Social Marketing Association (ISMA)
• World Federation of Advertisers (WFA)