Digital Advertising - UK - March 2016
“Ad personalisation through user input is key to boosting engagement; particularly as many consumers are showing interest in ad-blocking. But there isn’t necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution to balance personalisation and intrusiveness, as individual users have different attitudes towards their personal information and the extent to which they are happy to share it in exchange for a free service or other benefit.”
– Sara Ballaben, Senior Technology Analyst
This report examines the following issues:
- There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for ad personalisation
- Addressing the growth of ad-blocking beyond ad personalisation
- The upcoming gate-keepers of mobile advertising
What you get
What's included
- Consumer Attitudes and Behaviour
- Market data
- Competitive analysis
- Risks and Opportunities
- What’s Next
- Market Trends
This market report provides in-depth analysis and insight supported by a range of data. At the same time, introductory and top-level content is provided to give you an overview of the issues covered.
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Market
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Consumer
Mintel's proprietary consumer research provides our analysts with the attitudinal and behavioral data used to provide valuable insight to topical issues.
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Brand/Company
Mintel provides overviews of the top brands and manufacturers, and uses consumer research to explore attitudes and reactions to brands, as well as insight into what will resonate with consumers.
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Data
Market reports provide appendices of data to support the research and insight produced. Our tables of data are easily manipulated and downloadable to support your research needs and covers factors from consumer attitudes to market forecasts.

* This is a sample representation of the report layout and does not reflect the research included in this report.
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Table of contents
Overview
- What you need to know
- Covered in this report
- What you need to know
Executive Summary
- Digital advertising expenditure tops £8 billion
- Figure 1: Forecast of digital advertising expenditure in the UK, 2010-20
- Video and social now core components of digital advertising
- Figure 2: Digital advertising formats noticed by consumers in the last three months, December 2015
- Smartphone advertisers face a struggle to engage users
- Figure 3: Attitudes towards smartphone advertising, December 2015
- Unclear targeting methods cause unease
- Figure 4: Attitudes towards digital advertising, December 2015
- Majority would still pay for ad-supported media services
- Figure 5: Amount consumers would be willing to pay for monthly media subscriptions without advertising, December 2015
- Figure 6: Amount consumers would be willing to pay for monthly media subscriptions with advertising, December 2015
- What we think
Issues and Insights
- Tackling the threat of ad blockers
- The facts
- The implications
- Privacy vs personalisation
- The facts
- The implications
- Tackling the threat of ad blockers
The Market – What You Need to Know
- Digital advertising expenditure tops £8 billion
- Paid search accounted for more than half of expenditure in 2014
- Digital leads the way
- Privacy infringements arouse concerns
- Nearly one in four people have used ad blockers
- Digital advertising expenditure tops £8 billion
Market Size and Forecast
- Digital advertising expenditure tops £8 billion
- Figure 7: Digital advertising expenditure in the UK, 2010-20
- Forecast
- Figure 8: Forecast of digital advertising expenditure in the UK, 2010-20
- Digital advertising expenditure tops £8 billion
Segment Performance
- Paid search accounted for more than half of expenditure in 2014
- Figure 9: Segmentation of digital advertising expenditure in the UK, 2014
- More than £1 in every four spent on digital advertising is now mobile
- Figure 10: Digital advertising expenditure and mobile advertising revenue in the UK, 2010-14
- Paid search accounted for more than half of expenditure in 2014
Market Drivers
- Digital leads the way
- Figure 11: Advertising expenditure, by media channel, 2014
- Privacy infringements wake concerns
- Figure 12: Concerns relating to online data/security, November 2014
- Nearly one in four people have used ad blockers
- Figure 13: Online security services installed/used in the last 12 months, November 2014
- Figure 14: Screengrab of a website loading in Safari with (right image) and without (left image) Crystal installed, 2015
- Real-time bidding provides instant engagement
- Digital leads the way
Key Players – What You Need to Know
- Programmatic allows brands to hit the right note
- Cross-channel advertising
- Social media brands enhance their advertising platforms
- Empowering users
- Programmatic allows brands to hit the right note
Brand Activity and Innovations
- Programmatic allows brands to hit the right note
- Cross-channel advertising
- Social media brands enhance their advertising platforms
- Figure 15: Interactions with social media advertising, September 2015
- Figure 16: Awareness of what is online advertising, 2014
- Empowering users
- Costa brews up geo-location campaign
- Figure 17: Experience of location-based mobile marketing, 2013-14
- Programmatic allows brands to hit the right note
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
- Video and social now core components of digital advertising
- Overcoming negative perceptions
- Personalisation appeases social media users
- Smartphone advertisers face a struggle to engage users
- Unclear targeting methods cause unease
- Majority would still pay for ad-supported media services
- Video and social now core components of digital advertising
Digital Advertising Formats
- Video and social now core components of digital advertising
- Figure 18: Digital advertising formats noticed by consumers in the last three months, December 2015
- Young Millennials notice a larger range of formats
- Figure 19: Digital advertising formats noticed by consumers in the last three months, by generation, December 2015
- Deal and activity seekers more receptive to digital ads
- Figure 20: Digital advertising formats noticed by consumers in the last three months, by online activities performed in the last three months, December 2015
- Video and social now core components of digital advertising
Perceptions of Advertising Formats
- Overcoming negative perceptions
- Figure 21: Perceptions of digital advertising formats, December 2015
- Over-55s alienated by digital ads
- Figure 22: Perceptions of digital advertising formats (net), by age, December 2015
- Personalisation appeases social media users
- Figure 23: Perceptions of social media advertising, by people who describe social media advertising as personalised, December 2015
- Overcoming negative perceptions
Smartphone Advertising
- Smartphone advertisers face a struggle to engage users
- Figure 24: Attitudes towards smartphone advertising, December 2015
- Empowering Millennials
- Figure 25: Agreement with attitudes towards smartphone advertising, by generation, December 2015
- Smartphone advertisers face a struggle to engage users
Attitudes towards Digital Advertising
- Unclear targeting methods cause unease
- Figure 26: Attitudes towards digital advertising, December 2015
- Social logins provide the gateway for advertisers
- Unclear targeting methods cause unease
Online Media Services
- Option of free sources limits media subscription uptake
- Figure 27: Uptake of/interest in media subscriptions, December 2015
- Majority would still pay for ad-supported media services
- Figure 28: Amount consumers would be willing to pay for monthly media subscriptions without advertising, December 2015
- Figure 29: Amount consumers would be willing to pay for monthly media subscriptions with advertising, December 2015
- A sharing economy
- Option of free sources limits media subscription uptake
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
- Data sources
- Abbreviations
- Fan chart forecast
- Figure 30: Best and worst case forecast of UK digital advertising expenditure, 2015-20
- Data sources
Digital Advertising - UK - March 2016