Despite a difficult economic backdrop, advertising is having a strong year. The latest forecasts from the UK and global markets point to growth well ahead of the wider economy, but very unevenly spread.
The UK passes £50bn
According to the Advertising Association and WARC’s latest Expenditure Report, UK advertising investment grew 9.3% year on year to £11.7bn in the first quarter of 2026. The AA and WARC now forecast full-year spend of £50.5bn, up 8.2%, and £53.5bn in 2027. That follows £46.7bn in 2025.
The growth is concentrated. Search took £4.6bn in the quarter, close to 40% of all UK ad investment. The fastest-growing channels were online radio (up 22.1%), retail media (17.9%), social media (17.7%), digital out-of-home (17.6%) and addressable TV (15.5%). Published media fell 5.9%, with regional news brands down 9.7%, while online magazine brands grew 2.9%.
Globally, AI is the growth engine
WPP Media’s midyear forecast, published in June, raised its expectation for global ad revenue growth in 2026 to 8.9%, from 7.1% in December, taking the market to around $1.3 trillion. The agency described the investment surge around artificial intelligence as a powerful force offsetting economic headwinds.
Two details stand out. Generative search advertising is expected to bring in around $5.1bn globally this year, but to pass $100bn by 2030, which would make it the fastest channel ever to reach that size. And commerce, or retail media, is described as increasingly the foundation the industry is being built on.
What it means for B2B advertisers
- Search is changing shape. As AI answers absorb more queries, ads inside generative search and visibility within AI answers will matter alongside classic search ads.
- Context is scarce and valuable. With so much spend flowing to a few platforms, trusted specialist environments offer something they cannot: an engaged, relevant audience in the right frame of mind.
- Formats beyond the banner work hardest. Partner content, sponsored research and events let B2B brands show expertise, not just presence.
- Measure the whole journey. As referral clicks fall, brand recall, lead quality and direct traffic are better guides to effectiveness than click-through rates.
UKTN and PropertyWire offer exactly these formats to brands that want to reach technology and property decision makers. See our Solutions page for details.