The latest Advertising Association/WARC expenditure report indicates a sense of renewed optimism.
Despite a challenging year, national news brands saw growth in online advertising revenue in 2020 of 0.5%. The final figure for 2020 was revised upwards since the last expenditure forecast in January, making online news brand growth one of only four media channels to post an increase in advertising revenue for the year.
Looking ahead, the 2021 forecast predicts advertising revenue growth of 10.9% for online national news brands and in 2022, that is set to grow again by another 7.7%.
These online revenue results in part, mirror the phenomenal and strong online growth in readership news brands have seen over the past year, with more people than ever relying on trusted, quality news brands than ever before.
Total ad revenues for news brands fell by 24% in 2020 but are expected to rise by over 7% in 2021.
Commenting on the numbers, Denise Turner, insight director, Newsworks said: “These figures demonstrate the resilience of news brands. It’s particularly pleasing to see how news brand online revenue has held steady over 2020 with strong growth predicted in 2021 and beyond. This investment reflects the growth we’ve seen in readership over the last year with over 2 million more people turning to national news brands on a daily basis.”
Stephen Woodford, chief executive, Advertising Association added: “Advertising investment has mirrored the rapid changes seen across the economy over the last year, primarily the acceleration provided by lockdowns towards e-commerce across all sectors able to sell online. The pandemic accelerated trends that were already changing the market, evident for several years. The UK’s sophisticated online advertising marketplace helped to keep the economy moving and, no doubt, supported businesses, large and small, to stay connected with consumers who were no longer on the high street.”
