Investment in internet advertising continues to buoy the overall UK marketing industry, according to the latest IPA Bellwether report.

The report released today (16 January) reveals an overall increase in marketing spend in the fourth quarter of 2013, with over 11% of advertisers reporting an upward revision of their advertising spend during the surveyed period.

However, this increase was slightly down from the previous period when over 12.3% of survey participants reported an increase, but the trade body further forecasts a 3.3% increase in advertising spend throughout 2014.

The survey also reveals that internet spending budgets again recorded the sharpest improvement with a net balance increase* of 9.2%.

The IPA also notes that 3.8% of participants recorded an increase in their search spend – the lowest recorded rate of growth for both since Q1 2013.

The trade body has not released and figures about the performance of display ad budgets. But Nigel Gwilliam, IPA head of digital, suggests the slowing of search ad spend indicates that display advertising (and programmatic in particular) is driving the growth of online investment.

He adds: “Internet advertising is once again the strongest performing Bellwether category. Its larger net balance than even search engine marketing, specifically, for all four quarters of 2013 suggests the growing influence of programmatically traded display, social media and video advertising.”

Similarly, Sue Hunt, UK digital industry veteran and managing director of programmatic trading company Improve Digital, also says Gwilliam’s assessment is in keeping with her own firm’s fortunes.

She adds: “The growth in internet spending budgets in the latest Bellwether Report is very positive and in line with our own uplift at Improve Digital.

“During the same period from Q3 to Q4 2013, we experienced a 35% uplift in revenue. This mirrors the report findings that digital display has a more positive outlook, specifically in the programmatic area.”

The IPA report also forecasts ad spend patterns past 2014, using a predictive model which anticipates a slowing in GDP and consumer spending growth means overall investment in advertising will be flat between 2014 and 2015.

However, Improve Digital’s Hunt is more bullish about the programmatic industry's prospects during this period.

She says: “Looking into 2015, much as the report doesn’t forecast further significant growth we do expect 50% of [the industry's total digital display ad] spend, if not higher, to come from programmatic - driven by continued uptake of technology and significant growth in mobile.”

*The net balance is calculated by subtracting the percentage reporting a downward revision from the percentage reporting an upward revision.