More Evidence of Increased U.K. Online Marketing Spend

In the U.K., the Internet now accounts for over 6 percent of entire marketing spend according to the recently-released Q3 2007 “Bellwether Report” from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA).

The report states that over 40 percent of U.K.-based companies are now allocating at least 5 percent of their budget to online spending, and 22 percent are investing 10 percent or more. This represents an above-average growth when compared to the rest of the market. More than 30 percent of companies increased their online marketing budgets, while just 7 percent saw a decline.

“If as has been speculated, growth has peaked in this quarter, this is something that we’re not seeing in the digital sector. In fact, as marketers gain a greater understanding of the internet’s role within the overall marketing mix, we may see a more realistic approach to budget setting,” said Ed Ling, deputy chairman for IPA Digital in a statement.

The strongest growth was seen in the autos, consumer service and I.T. and computing sectors, with only the media and marketing sector seeing a cut to annual marketing budgets. The survey also reports 13 percent of respondents are still not using the Internet for marketing at all.

The IPA figures indicate more modest online spending by U.K. firms than reported by the IAB earlier this month. That report shows UK online advertising revenues accounted for a much larger 14.7 percent share during the first half of 2007. The IPA report is focused on marketing budgets, however, as opposed to ad spend.

Data for the IPA report were compiled from a questionnaire survey of around 250 U.K.-based companies across a range of sectors.