I'm attending the Digital Shoreditch Festival, later this month when I visit London, England (my home town). One of the storyline topics that I'll be researching is how the savvy local digital media talent will be capitalizing on the upcoming London 2012 Summer Olympics event coverage.
According to the latest assessment by eMarketer, in 2012 the total advertising spending growth within the UK will outpace the rest of Europe and the U.S. market for one reason: the highly anticipated global media buzz that will surround the London Olympics.
In February, Strategy Analytics forecast that total ad spending in the UK will increase by 4.2 percent, compared to 3.7 percent in Europe overall and 2.7 percent in the U.S. marketplace.
The boost from the Summer Olympics will push the UK closer to the worldwide average of 4.9 percent, which is buoyed by fast growth in emerging markets like China, Brazil and India.
By comparison, eMarketer estimates that UK total advertising spending will increase 4.8 percent, up from 3 percent in 2011, showing an apparent convergence in the market projections.
"This summer's Olympics are already generating extra interest and investment in UK advertising, as brands ramp up activity focused on the Games and the audiences they will attract," said Karin von Abrams, senior analyst at eMarketer. "The most recent Bellwether study from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) also points to an uplift in ad spending this year, despite a generally gloomy economic picture."
More British marketers have increased their ad spending in Q1 2012 than had cut back -- that's the third successive quarter this has happened. Online spending in particular rose by 7.8 percent during the quarter, according to the IPA.
Strategy Analytics estimates that online ad spending will be a bright spot across the board, rising 10.6 percent in the UK, 11.7 percent throughout Europe and 12.8 percent worldwide.
Once again, eMarketer's forecast concurs, estimating UK online ad spending will jump 12 percent and reach £5.09 billion ($7.84 billion) in 2012, before it likely stabilizes at 10 percent growth by 2013.