Marketing spend is at its highest level in 13 years, with UK ad spend growth projected to be 2.4% 2013 and 3.6% in 2014, according to the latest IPA Bellwether survey.
The survey found a net increase of 12.3% in companies registering an increase in advertising budgets, which it said was providing “a welcome boost” to the industry.
It said the increase in marketing spend highlighted that the UK economy is “on the rise again.”
Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit and author of the Bellwether report, said: “The Bellwether survey adds to the growing flow of upbeat data on the UK economy. Marketing spend looks set to rise sharply as companies boost their budgets to an extent not seen in the 13-year history of the survey.
“The increased appetite to spend on advertising and marketing is being fuelled by a surge in business optimism, with firms seeing their financial prospects to be the brightest for at least eight years.
“These survey findings are not only great news for the marketing industry but also for the UK’s broader economic recovery. The fact that business are starting to spend in earnest again suggests we may finally see a long awaited upturn in investment spending, which will help take the UK’s recovery onto a more sustainable footing.”
