UK direct mail lags behind other media growing 2.1%

Growth in spending in direct mail lagged behind the marketing industry average over the past quarter, up by 2.1% in current prices, compared with 4.6% across the board.

According to the Advertising Association, direct mail, which only includes mailouts and not doordrops nor other forms of direct marketing, rose to £569m. But compared with other media, it was lagging in terms of growth.

Last month, the AA reported that spending on direct mail in the UK could rise by as much as 54% over the next 10 years. Between now and 2014, the medium of direct mail is set to rise between 46% and 54%. This put it well ahead of the marketing industry as a whole.

Across the board, adspend was up by 4.6% in the UK, to £3.61bn. Cinema spend for the quarter rose by 23.1% to £40m after two quarters of decline, while outdoor advertising continued its strong performance, up by 7.3% to £214m. Television, boosted by July’s Euro 2004 football championships, rose by 5.7% to £930m.

No sector showed a decline for the third quarter of the year, and only consumer magazine advertising showed a smaller increase than direct mail, up 1.5% to £193m. Radio rose by 3% to £135m.

The figures are compiled by the World Advertising Research Centre and published by the Advertising Association. The full report is available from WARC.