We examine the latest IPA Bellwether Report, unpacking the key data points and what they reveal about the direction of UK marketing spend, alongside expert insight on how brands are navigating a rapidly shifting economic and geopolitical landscape.

UK marketers have burst into 2026 with a surge of renewed momentum, as the latest IPA Bellwether Report points to a sharp return to growth after last year’s subdued finish. In a climate defined by geopolitical instability and mounting cost pressures, the rebound is striking. This signals that businesses are no longer sitting on the sidelines, but actively reinvesting in marketing to drive growth. Brands are re-engaging the market with a more deliberate approach, balancing ambition with caution as uncertainty continues to loom.

Total marketing budgets recorded a net balance of +7.3% in Q1, marking the strongest upward revision in nearly two years and a notable rebound from Q4 2025’s stagnation. More than a quarter of firms increased spend, outpacing those implementing cuts, in a shift that suggests businesses are regaining confidence in marketing as a lever for growth rather than a discretionary cost.

Investment is also being channelled into areas that offer immediacy, engagement, and clearer returns. Events emerged as the standout performer, surging to a net balance of +14.7%, while PR extended its long-running growth streak at +6.0%. Together, these gains point to a continued pivot toward more direct, client-focused and relationship-driven marketing strategies.

Encouragingly, main media advertising also returned to growth (+4.5%) after three quarters of inertia, driven by a rebound in video and sustained strength in online channels. Yet structural pressures remain evident: out-of-home, published brands, and audio budgets all continued to contract, underscoring an ongoing recalibration within the media mix.

This cautious optimism is reflected in forward-looking budgets. Plans for 2026 and 2027 have been revised upward, though the overall net balance remains historically subdued, highlighting a market that is improving but not yet fully convinced. 

Focus shifting from volume to value 

As marketing budgets start to recover, the focus is shifting from volume to value, with greater emphasis on targeted, performance-driven investment. In this environment, AI will play an increasingly important role in driving efficiency and effectiveness.

As the report highlights, AI is moving from experimentation to application with businesses now incorporating the technology into their daily workflows to strengthen targeting and deliver more granular insights.

What matters now is not just the deployment of AI – but the right foundations behind it.  Accurate data, persistent identity and human governance are critical to ensure AI-driven outcomes are reliable, actionable and provable.  The organisations that will win are those that can act with confidence – knowing their decisions are grounded in real people and lived behaviour – not assumptions or proxies. AI should amplify human judgement, not replace it, and appropriate oversight is essential to making that a reality. 

In a climate where every pound of marketing spend is under greater scrutiny, strong data foundations, identity and governance help ensure AI supports informed decision‑making, not just speed or scale. This enables brands to move beyond broad targeting to deliver more relevant, personalised experiences, smarter optimisation and better ROI in an evolving landscape.

Debbie Oates, Director of Customer Engagement, Experian Marketing Services 

Brands are leaning into consumer realities 

Despite a tricky economic backdrop, we're starting to see increases in spend as brands lean into a few specific consumer realities. We’re seeing the 'lipstick effect' in full swing; while big-ticket purchases might be on hold, 'little luxuries' like premium skincare are booming for the mass market.

At the same time, both B2B and B2C brands are having to increase budgets just to protect their existing market share – a defensive necessity backed by the classic Binet & Field research on the long-term cost of going dark in marketing spend.

This competitive pressure is being amplified by the shift toward AI-driven search, with brands now aggressively funding content to secure citations in LLM results to ensure they remain the recommended choice in this new ecosystem.

Ultimately, as many studies over the years have proved, the brands that keep their foot on the gas during the hard times are the ones that emerge with a massive lead once the dust settles.

Veronica Norcross, Global Client Leader, Jellyfish

Mid-funnel activity deserves real attention right now 

The Q1 Bellwether numbers are a welcome sign but if you're working in performance marketing right now, you'll know the market feels more cautious than +7.3% suggests.

What we're seeing across our client base is a real shift in how people are shopping. The US/Iran conflict, rising fuel prices and the daily unpredictability of US trade policy have knocked consumer confidence. Research from The British Retail Consortium in March found that 64% of UK adults expect the economy to get worse over the next three months. That kind of sentiment changes buying behaviour, even before it hits people's pockets, and we're seeing it in the data.

We're seeing the path to purchase getting longer, shoppers are looking for reassurance, comparing more, reading more reviews and pulling back on impulse buys. Basket sizes are feeling the squeeze too with average order values showing a decline.

For marketers, the instinct is to double down on conversion to drive revenue but when the buying journey stretches, that only addresses part of the problem. Mid-funnel activity – building consideration and trust over a longer period – deserves real attention right now.

Messaging also matters more in this climate with a focus on value, quality, social proof and making the purchase journey as easy as possible. Reviews, clear returns policies and transparent delivery costs all reduce the hesitation that's costing conversions.

Keep experimenting too! It helps reduce risk by testing creative and messaging at every stage, as long as you have proper measurement behind it.

The most important piece of advice we'd give any marketer right now: don't retract, respond. Consumer demand hasn't disappeared, it's just become more cautious. The brands that stay visible and stay calm will be the ones best placed to grow when confidence returns.

Jaye Cowle, CEO & Founder, Launch

A focus on measurable impact and business outcomes

In light of ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, the rebound in marketing budgets this quarter suggests a clear focus on measurable impact and business outcomes. And as advertisers look to maximise efficiency and justify every pound spent, they need formats that can deliver both brand equity and performance.

While the Bellwether report highlights mixed trends across media, we see digital audio continue to stand out as a high-performing, results-driven channel. Brands increasingly turn to it not only for its ability to build awareness, but to drive tangible outcomes across the full funnel, from consideration through to conversion; a combination of precision targeting, scalability and strong engagement, enables advertisers to deliver campaigns that are both impactful and accountable. In short, audio has evolved into a reliable lever for delivering measurable ROI as well as long-term value – factors that work in its favour as marketers balance caution with the need for growth.

Elie Kauffmann, Head of Sales EMEA, Audion

Leaning into smarter ways of working

The rebound in marketing budgets signals a clear shift, with businesses increasingly looking to marketing to drive growth through ongoing macro-economic uncertainty.

What’s notable from the report is how brands are responding. Rather than pulling back, they’re leaning into smarter and more connected ways of working. Teams aren’t focusing on short-term performance spikes any longer. The most progressive marketers are building brands and strengthening real customer relationships, without compromising on the expectation that every pound spent should deliver a measurable impact.

That shift is accelerating the move towards true omnichannel strategies. At MiQ, we’re seeing brands prioritise a unified view of how people are watching, browsing and buying. Environments like CTV, online video and YouTube are all being viewed in one connected system rather than in separate silos – a unified approach which is driving more predictable outcomes. Crucially, it’s the combination of that connected view with the expertise of our teams that allows brands to interpret these signals properly and act on them with confidence. 

As ad spend forecasts continue to improve over the next three years, the advantage will sit with brands that can consistently turn connectivity into clarity – understanding real audience behaviour and proving the impact of every investment. Those that can’t will struggle to translate renewed budgets into real growth.

Alfie Atkinson, CEO, MiQ

A clear shift in sentiment 

Q1 2026 marked a clear shift in sentiment. The geopolitical climate has tempered the optimism we saw at the end of 2025, with marketers taking a more cautious approach as uncertainty persists.  

We saw investment in performance marketing accelerate, as the need to demonstrate clear business impact has moved from a nice-to-have to a fundamental requirement. We also saw AI move beyond experimentation into strategic application, with the brands that have already operationalised it gaining a clear competitive advantage. 

Looking ahead, the most effective B2B brands recognise that sustainable growth depends on balancing brand and demand, not choosing between them. This requires closer alignment between marketing and sales teams to deliver seamless customer experiences and convert demand more efficiently.  

In today’s volatile environment, organisations should place greater emphasis on reducing silos and improving cross-functional alignment. And while caution is to be expected, the marketers who succeed will be those who can prove value, stay aligned, and invest for both short-term impact and long-term growth.

Alice Gilbert, Head of Consultancy, Fox Agency

Putting the buzz into practice

Operating in a state of continuous global crisis has tragically become the norm. Yet, where UK advertisers would have previously pulled back spend, the fact that they haven’t proves that resilience has become well and truly hardwired into the industry.

Performance remains key and the 5.7% boost in video and other online formats shows a clear drive toward proven ROI. However, respondents rightly highlight the need to prioritise investment in quality data and autonomous AI for long-term brand building and budget efficiency. 

Agentic AI in particular will define the industry’s next era, but it’s time to put the buzz into practice. Audio and DOOH took a hit this quarter, but consumers don’t live in silos. Empowered with clear guardrails and trusted partners, media buyers can now harness agentic scale and speed to bring together every screen for game-changing outcomes. True resilience isn't just about surviving the next crisis, it's about using sophisticated technology to keep your brand front and centre with consumers no matter what’s on the horizon.

Phil Acton, Country Manager UK, Adform

Why real-time insight drives better marketing outcomes

If these increased budgets are to result in sustained growth for the rest of the year, marketers will want to monitor how spend performs closely. There is a sense of cautious optimism as brands are leaning into digital, particularly online and video where engagement has remained consistent over the years. 

However, the landscape is far from reliable and predictable. Channels like streaming and CTV are highly fragmented, making it critical to understand not just overall performance, but how each channel contributes to specific marketing objectives. Without this level of clarity, it becomes difficult to allocate budgets effectively or scale what’s working.

Equally important is the need for timely insight. If results are only reviewed at the end of a campaign cycle, marketers risk missing a valuable optimisation window where adjustments could have significantly improved outcomes. In the current climate, having access to accurate, real-time data, and actionable performance insight is essential in ensuring that decisions are both informed and made at the right moment.

Sarah Robson, Global Head of Advertising Effectiveness, On Device

Advertisers are turning their backs on channels that lack measurability and accountability

Against a backdrop of a weakening economic climate and uncertain consumer spending, the latest IPA Bellwether report shows glimpses of the green shoots of recovery that advertisers are looking for.

Main media ad spend is rising in Q1 of this year for the first time in four quarters, while a net balance of +7.3% of respondents reporting increased marketing budget shows that confidence is returning, if slowly, to ad spend. We do have to sound a note of caution that the full quarterly effect of war in the Middle East is not reflected in this data. However, that shouldn't detract from the most positive Bellwether report on overall marketing budgets in two years. Again, out-of-home advertising was the drag on overall ad spend at -11.3%, showcasing how more and more advertisers are turning their backs on channels that lack the measurability and accountability of online, which, alongside video, showed the biggest gains.

Anthony Clements, Country Manager, impact.com

Creative strategy is experiencing a resurgence

The growth in budgets for online and video advertising presents a significant opportunity for marketers who remain keen to connect their spending directly to measurable outcomes. Creative strategy is experiencing a resurgence, driven by interactive and immersive ad creative that is transforming advertising from a static output into a rich source of actionable insights to optimise marketing campaigns.

This shift is equally significant for publishers: when marketers prioritise performance, it drives stronger demand and improved yields. In turn, this strengthens publisher content and their role as creators and providers of information and quality journalism. In periods of geopolitical uncertainty, it becomes even more important to recognise how advertising can support high-quality publishers and trusted news content.

Emma Lacey, SVP Sales Demand EMEA, Onetag