Events lead UK marketing budgets: what it means for SMEs

On 16 July 2026 the IPA published its Q2 2026 Bellwether Report. Events was the fastest-growing marketing budget category in the UK for the second quarter running, at a net balance of +11.0%. In plain terms: more UK companies raised their events spending last quarter than raised spending on any other marketing activity.

The part every write-up skipped is who answered. The Bellwether panel is around 300 UK marketing professionals drawn primarily from the nation’s top 1000 companies. This is a reliable read on what large UK advertisers are doing with their money. It is a poor benchmark for a thirty-person firm. That distinction changes what you should do with it.

What the report actually found

The Bellwether Report is a quarterly survey of UK marketing budgets, published by S&P Global for the IPA. Source: the Q2 2026 IPA Bellwether Report, published 16 July 2026.

Total marketing budgets recorded a net balance of +6.9%, the second-highest reading in two years, down slightly from +7.3% in Q1. Of the panel, 23.8% raised budgets, 16.9% cut them, and 59.4% left them alone.

By category, events led at +11.0%, down from +14.7% in Q1. Direct marketing followed at +3.0%. Main media advertising came in at +1.5% and PR at +1.4%, both well down on Q1 readings of +4.5% and +6.0%. Sales promotions managed +0.9%. Market research fell to -4.1% and the “other” category to -10.8%.

Inside main media, video was the only sub-category to grow. Its net balance rose from +5.7% to +8.2%, a seven-quarter high. Audio stabilised at 0.0% after twelve consecutive quarters of decline. Out of home came in at -2.5%, other online at -5.1%, and published brands at -8.3%.

Confidence went the other way. The net balance of panellists expecting better prospects at their own company fell to -9.6%, from +0.6% in Q1. For their industry it fell to -25.1%.

Paul Bainsfair, director general of the IPA, said: “The overriding message from this quarter’s report is that UK companies continue to recognise the value of advertising.”

What is a net balance, and why doesn’t +11.0% mean budgets rose 11%?

A net balance is the share of firms that raised budgets minus the share that cut them. It is not a percentage change in money. Events at +11.0% means the proportion of companies increasing their events spend exceeded the proportion cutting it by eleven percentage points. It says nothing about how much anyone spent.

A category can post a strong net balance while total spending in it falls, if the firms cutting are cutting deeply and the firms raising are nudging. Treat the Bellwether as a direction of travel, not a market size.

Why does this matter for a smaller business?

For a firm well outside the top 1000, this is a competitive signal, not a benchmark. Events leading for two quarters running means the exhibition stands, sponsorship slots and venue dates you want are being bid for by companies with far bigger budgets than yours. The practical effect lands on price and availability, not on your strategy. If you are planning an autumn or Q1 show, the good space goes early in a market where the biggest spenders are leaning in.

Take a twelve-person B2B firm that books one trade show a year and spends £8,000 on stand, staff and collateral. The Bellwether tells that firm nothing about whether £8,000 is the right number. What it does tell them is that the companies exhibiting either side of them have, on balance, raised their budgets two quarters running. Turning up with last year’s stand and last year’s money is a decision, whether or not anyone made it deliberately.

Should your business spend more on events because of this?

No, not on this evidence alone. A net balance from a panel of large advertisers tells you what the market is doing, not what works for you.

The number that should drive your events budget is your own: what your last event cost, and what it returned in leads, meetings or contracts. If you have those two figures side by side, you already know more about your events spend than this report can tell you.

What to ignore

The video headline. Most of the trade coverage led on video advertising hitting a seven-quarter high at +8.2%, because it was the only main media sub-category to grow. It is also a large-advertiser number: video here means advertising budgets at companies buying broadcast and connected TV, not a signal about whether your firm should post more short-form video. Read it as news about the TV market and move on.

What to do this week

Pull your last twelve months of event spend into a spreadsheet, one row per event, against the leads or meetings each one produced. It takes about an hour and it is the only events benchmark that applies to you.

If you have an autumn or Q1 event in mind, check availability and pricing now rather than in September. Two quarters of the largest advertisers raising events budgets is a reason to move earlier than usual.

Leave the confidence numbers out of your own budget decision. The panel’s pessimism at -25.1% is about their industries. It is not information about your pipeline.

Frequently asked questions

What is the IPA Bellwether Report?
The IPA Bellwether Report is a quarterly survey of UK marketing budgets, researched and published by S&P Global on behalf of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. It draws on a panel of around 300 UK marketing professionals, taken primarily from the country’s top 1000 companies.

Did UK marketing budgets rise in Q2 2026?
On balance, yes. The Q2 2026 IPA Bellwether Report recorded a net balance of +6.9%. Of the panel, 23.8% raised marketing budgets and 16.9% cut them, with 59.4% unchanged. It was the second-highest reading in two years, just below Q1 2026’s +7.3%.

Which marketing category is growing fastest in the UK?
Events. In the Q2 2026 IPA Bellwether Report, events recorded a net balance of +11.0%, ahead of direct marketing at +3.0%, main media at +1.5% and PR at +1.4%. Events also led in Q1 2026, at +14.7%. The panel is drawn primarily from the UK’s top 1000 companies.

Where Lahat Creative fits

We run events end to end for UK businesses, from trade show stands at Excel and the NEC to brand activations inside third-party festivals. Recent work includes the British Motor Show, where our campaign supported a 21% increase in ticket sales, and BP Pulse’s activation at CarFest, seen by over 100,000 people on site. If you are weighing up an autumn event, our guide to planning a corporate event in the UK covers the parts that catch people out, and our 2026 event marketing playbook deals with what happens after the doors close. We have also written on what a UK marketing agency costs.

Lahat Creative covers marketing, PR, content, social and events from Guildford, across Hampshire, Surrey and beyond. PR Agency of the Year 2025/26 at the Corporate LiveWire Global Awards.

Work with us: chat@lahatcreative.com · 07985 365062

Source: IPA Bellwether Report, Q2 2026, published 16 July 2026 by S&P Global for the IPA.