UK Direct Mail Spending to Rise 4.1% in 2004
Direct mail expenditures in the United Kingdom are expected to grow 4.1 percent in 2004, according to the Advertising Association's Advertising Forecast.The Advertising Association is a federation of 26 trade groups that represent the advertising and promotional marketing industries in the UK. They include advertisers, agencies, media and providers of support services.
Media covered in the report include national and regional newspapers, consumer and business magazines, television, radio and outdoor. For the first time, the report offers projections for direct mail, cinema advertising and Internet advertising.
The 4.1 percent figure puts direct mail behind the 4.8 percent growth predicted for overall ad spend in the UK compared with 2003. However, the direct mail category includes only what is sent through the mail. It does not include other aspects of direct marketing, such as advertising inserts.
Internet advertising is expected to skyrocket 53 percent. Other sectors set to perform well include outdoor advertising (8.7 percent); radio (7.8 percent); and regional newspapers (5.9 percent). Cinema advertising is predicted to fall 1.4 percent.
The recovery that began in fourth-quarter 2003 has continued into first-quarter 2004, with total ad expenditures rising 3.5 percent annually, at constant prices, according to the Advertising Association.
