Video budgets hit strongest level in almost two years
Updated: Sep 1
Video advertising is enjoying a marked resurgence, with budgets reaching a seven-quarter high in the latest IPA Bellwether Report. The category climbed to a net balance of +8.2% in the second quarter of 2026, up from +5.7% the previous quarter — its strongest showing in almost two years.
The growth reflects a broader shift in where marketers believe they get the best return. As audiences spend ever more time with online video, short-form social content and connected TV, brands are moving money towards formats that pair broad reach with genuine engagement — and that work across the full funnel, from awareness to response.
Winners and losers
Video's momentum aligns with the wider market, where video-on-demand has been one of the fastest-growing channels in the UK. But the money flowing into video is coming, at least in part, at the expense of other lines: some online categories cooled in the same period, and traditional research budgets slipped again.
For marketers planning the second half of 2026, the direction of travel is hard to ignore. The barrier to video is no longer reach or cost — it is the discipline of producing content that earns attention in the crucial opening seconds.
Why video keeps winning
Part of the appeal is that video now does two jobs at once. A well-made clip can build brand memory and drive an immediate response, collapsing the old divide between brand and performance marketing. As platforms from TikTok and Instagram to connected TV make short-form video the default way audiences consume content, brands that fail to show up in the format risk simply being absent from the moments that matter most.
Artificial intelligence is accelerating the trend by slashing the cost and time of production. Tools that generate, edit and version video at scale mean brands can now produce dozens of tailored cuts for different audiences and platforms — something that would have been prohibitively expensive only a couple of years ago. That is turning video from a premium, occasional format into an everyday workhorse.
The implication for marketers is a shift in where the hard work lies. With budget and reach no longer the constraint, competitive advantage now comes from creative quality and relevance: the ability to stop the scroll and hold attention in the first few seconds. The brands investing in that craft — not just in more video, but in better video — are the ones most likely to convert this industry-wide momentum into results.
— Alicia Morris, Creative & Campaigns Writer at Marketing Minute
For marketers, video's momentum is a signal to invest in the capability to make it well and often. The barrier is no longer budget or reach — it's producing video that earns attention in the first few seconds.
Is video taking a bigger share of your budget in 2026 — and if so, what is it taking that share from?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
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