Why The Future Of UK Advertising Is Digital and Greener: Samuel Allen, 30Seconds Group

TechRound talks to Samuel Allen, Operations Director at 30Seconds Group.

Samuel, you say the future of UK advertising is digital, not paper. Why is that shift now unavoidable?

The industry is being pulled in two directions at once, technology and sustainability. Nearly 80% of UK ad spend is already digital, and that’s not slowing down. But just as important is the growing pressure on brands to reduce waste and carbon emissions. Paper-heavy advertising doesn’t align with where consumers and the industry is heading. 

Sustainability in advertising used to be a “nice to have”. What’s changed?

Sustainability is now an expectation. Consumers are more environmentally conscious and more sceptical. They look at how brands behave, not just what they sell. Marketing is part of that judgement. If a brand talks about sustainability while flooding letterboxes with unwanted print, the disconnect is evident and damaging. 

Print direct mail still attracts some spend. Why does it struggle to justify itself today?

Direct mail printing is inefficient and wasteful. Nearly £1 billion was spent on print direct mail last year, yet up to 40% of it is thrown away unread. That’s wasted budget and wasted material. In a climate-conscious economy, that level of waste is increasingly hard to defend both financially and ethically. 

How does digital out-of-home offer a greener alternative for marketers?

Digital signage removes paper entirely – no printing, no ink, no distribution vans, no physical waste. One screen can deliver thousands of impressions without generating landfill. Over its lifetime, digital signage can reduce CO₂ emissions by four to five times compared to printed materials. That’s a huge ESG accomplishment for brands. 

Beyond sustainability, how is digital OOH better?

Digital screens allow brands to be relevant, not generic. Messages can change by time of day, location or audience. That relevance drives engagement. Studies show that digital out-of-home can achieve up to 2.5 times the ad recall of static posters, so you get better results with less waste. 

How does this connect to changing consumer behaviour?

Today’s consumers are driven by ethical choices and marketing is often the first touchpoint. If advertising feels wasteful and clashes with a consumer’s values, the brand has lost a paying customer. Ethical branding doesn’t start at the product level anymore – it begins with how a brand communicate. 

Does digital out-of-home still deliver advertising scale?

Absolutely – out-of-home advertising now reaches around 98% of the UK every week. Digital OOH delivers scale without waste, placing messages across transport systems, offices, residential buildings and retail spaces where people already are rather than pushing paper through every door. 

 What’s happening to traditional print in the long term?

Forecasts show direct mail spend continuing to decline. At the same time, digital OOH is growing because it aligns with how people live, how brands need to behave, and how sustainability targets are being set.

Final thought – what should marketers take away from this?

Going green in marketing is about doing the right thing. Consumers are choosing ethical brands which make responsible choices, and advertising is part of that story. Moving from paper to pixels isn’t just more innovative marketing, it’s a clear signal that a brand understands the world it’s operating in and also its audience.