Advertising spend is predicted to surge beyond the £20 billion milestone by 2015 with projected growth of 5.5% and 6.6% in 2014 and 2015 respectively, according to the most recent Advertising Association/Warc expenditure report. The report also hints at the mobile ad market being worth upwards of £2.5 billion in the same timeframe.  

Comparatively, UK ad spend in 2013 was recorded at £17.88 million, an increase of 3.9% on 2012. Mobile was close to double with a reported 95% growth where as other sectors posted more modest growth, such as video on demand at 21% and digital news brands with 19.5%.

Many experts in the industry believe that mobile will continue to rise, accounting for a quarter of search spend in 2014 and a third come 2015, with desktop expected to stagnate.

Advertising Association chief executive Tim Lefroy said: “Another set of positive indicators to support the growth story – every pound spent on advertising returns six to GDP. The forecast explosion in mobile advertising and digital formats points to UK advertising at the centre of a global revolution in consumer information, service and choice.”

RS Internet Marketing, a revered website advertising outfit with several years’ experience, also weighed in on the debate.

A representative for RS Internet Marketing said: “There has been considerable growth over the last couple of years in the number of people who are not only using their mobiles to browse the web but also to do their shopping online, and it’s only natural for an increase in mobile ad spend to follow.

“It’s only a matter of time until mobile browsing and shopping on smartphones and tablets puts desktops to shame so while these predictions may sound out there to some we believe they’re fair and will most certainly come true – if not in 2015 then certainly in 2016!”

RS Internet Marketing is a digital marketing agency with a wealth of experience in the sector, having helped an untold number of clients in various industries to get to the front of Google and other search engines. They offer search engine optimisation, pay per click, mobile & responsive website development, social media management and more. Visit their website at www.rsinternetmarketing.co.uk for more info.