ISBA has released the results of its 2026 Media Budgets Survey in partnership with Ebiquity and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), revealing significant shifts in advertiser priorities and media investment strategies for 2026.
Representing an estimated £2.9 billion in UK ad spend, the UK results form part of Ebiquity's global analysis across 16 countries with the WFA - 518 advertisers representing over $13 billion in ad spend - offering both a comprehensive snapshot of the UK media landscape and valuable international benchmarking. The results indicate that 65% of respondents anticipate an increase in their total marketing budgets for 2026, with 19% expecting a significant rise. A notable trend is the shift towards brand-building, with 37% of UK advertisers planning to increase their share of branding spend, compared to only 14% who intend to focus more on performance marketing.
Bobi Carley, ISBA Director of Industry Relations, said: “The 2026 Media Budgets Survey results are incredibly insightful. We’re seeing a clear shift in advertiser priorities, with the majority planning to increase their budgets and a strong move towards brand-building and more targeted, data-driven TV formats. We are very grateful to our members for taking the time to share their plans with us."
Investment in television is undergoing a transformation. While 60% of advertisers plan to reduce their spend on Linear TV, 83% expect to increase their investment in Addressable and Connected TV. Of those, 32% foresee growth exceeding 10%, highlighting a strong pivot towards more targeted and data-driven TV formats.
Structural changes within agency relationships are anticipated. 68% of brands plan to pursue greater integration between media and creative agencies, reflecting a trend towards consolidated agency models. Regarding agency remuneration, 32% of respondents expect no significant change, and only 14% foresee a shift towards outcome-based pricing models.
Artificial intelligence is poised to play a more prominent role in media operations. Over half of the respondents expect AI to contribute significantly to media optimisation in 2026, underscoring the growing importance of automation and data-driven decision-making in the advertising ecosystem.
Michelle Morgado, Managing Director for UK & Ireland at Ebiquity, said, “Our global survey across 16 countries and $13 billion in ad spend reveals UK marketers are notably more confident than many of their international peers. They're planning higher budgets for 2026 with a strong shift back to brand-building - a clear signal of strategic optimism in the UK market that we are not seeing everywhere.”
The full UK results are available exclusively for ISBA members on the ISBA website.
We'll be running an online event on Wednesday 1 December at 3pm with Ebiquity to deep-dive into the results. The event is free to attend, sign up here.