AA/WARC Q3 2025: Industry reactions

Despite numerous economic and geopolitical headwinds, UK ad spend continued to rise resilient in the third quarter of last year and is forecast to surpass £50bn for the first time in 2026, according to the latest AA/WARC Expenditure Report reading.

Encouraging signs of a robust corner of the UK economy, but we asked industry leaders from across the advertising and marketing world for reaction to the latest report …

Suzanna Chaplin, CEO & Founder, esbconnect

“The headline growth is encouraging, but what stands out is that 80% of spend is going into search, social, and display.

“Brands are doubling down on channels that increasingly compete for the same shrinking and over-targeted audiences.

“The opportunity in 2026 isn’t simply spending more; it’s spending smarter. Stop being a sheep and spending only where feels safest. Meta feels obvious, but would Reddit have felt obvious 12 months ago?

“Flip your budget to the 29% – that’s the opportunity with less noise. Focus on building first-party relationships, identifying real people rather than anonymous impressions, and looking for channels that are not fashionable but staples.

“As costs continue to rise and regulation tightens, the brands that win will be those that invest in durable identity and data, and go to where there are quality audiences and less noise.”

James Taylor, CEO and Founder, Particular Audience

“The real story here is not how much is being spent, but where it’s being spent. Search and online display are both showing sustained, double-digit growth, and now account for 83% of total spend, stealing ground from legacy formats such as magazine brands.

“What’s also clear is that retailers are emerging as the focal point of the media economy and this is where the battle lines are being drawn.

“The brands who will win out on the retail media battlefield will be those who tie ad spend to purchase intent, backed by deep personalisation, to target people with things they actually want to buy.”

Owen Hancock, RVP, Marketing – EMEA, impact.com

“In a world where digital ad spend is set to hurdle the £50bn mark for the first time, it’s easy to get swept up in the sheer momentum of the numbers.

“The latest WARC findings paint a picture of an industry showing remarkable resilience, yet behind that headline growth of 11.4% lies a critical tension.

“While search and online display still command the lion’s share of the pie, we’re seeing a profound shift in where the real value is being created. It’s no longer just about being the loudest voice in a crowded room; it’s about finding the most trusted voice in the feed.

“As traditional channels grapple with rising costs and the quiet encroachment of AI search, the brands that are truly outpacing the competition are those leaning into the power of authentic, human-led partnerships.

“The data tells us that consumers are no longer passive recipients of advertising; they are active researchers who prize community and social proof above all else.

“With 89% of people trusting personal recommendations over any other channel, the flywheel of advocacy has become the most potent engine for growth we have.

“The spike in investment in culturally-relevant moments, from the euphoria of major sporting events to the intimacy of creator-led content, proves that commerce is now fundamentally about connection.

At impact.com, we believe the future isn’t about more ads; it’s about more trust. It’s time we stopped merely buying reach and started building relationships that scale, turning that £50bn of spend into a measurable, performance-powered ecosystem of genuine human influence.”

James Macdonald, co-Founder & Chief Revenue Officer, Limelight

“The Q3 results highlight how both AI and programmatic are increasingly shaping the industry’s growth, particularly across search, VOD and online display, but neither works in isolation.

“AI is proving most valuable as a driver of efficiency that enhances human-led strategy, while programmatic continues to sit at the centre of media planning through flexible, white-label solutions that lower barriers to entry and enable scale.

“Together, they allow teams to focus less on the tools themselves and more on delivering performance and outcomes, which is ultimately where the industry’s attention is heading.”

David Mandeno, COO & co-Founder, Revving

“An 11.4% year-on-year increase in UK ad spend looks pretty healthy, but it’s important to remember that these numbers relate to Q3.

“If we do the maths and subtract the Q1, 2, and 3 revenues from the full-year 2025 forecast of £46.9bn, that means ad spend in Q4, the so-called golden quarter, is predicted to be lower than Q3 at £11.6bn, which doesn’t offer much comfort for those on the ad tech coalface.

“It’s a reflection of many things, including geopolitical tensions, an uncertain economic outlook, and the general malaise around the digital economy’s broken payments system, which leaves many companies that advertisers rely on most facing a never-ending cash flow crisis.”