Carat: Digital to drive global adspend to $538bn this year
The upcoming US presidential elections, Rio Olympics and Paralympics and the UEFA EURO 2016 are set to help global adspend reach US$538 billion this year (a 4.5% yearly increase), according to Carat’s latest ad expenditure forecast.
Based on data received from 59 markets across the Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA, digital remains the established driver of growth – with continued strong performances from mobile (+37.9%), online video (+34.7%) and social media (+29.8%) expected to see digital grow +15% in 2016 and +13.6% in 2017.
Overall, Carat predicts the upsurge of digital to account for 27% of adspend this year and 29.3% in 2017, reaching US$161 billion globally.
However, despite digital’s strong performance, TV remains the dominant advertising medium – with its 42% share in 2015 expected to grow by 3.1% this year.
Outdoor (+3,4%), radio (+2.2%) and cinema (+2.8%) are also forecast to grow this year – cinema is also set to increase by a further 5% in 2017 – while newspaper spend is expected to decline by -5.4% and magazines by -1.7%.
Jerry Buhlmann, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network, said the forecast gives “reinforced optimism” for global advertising spend.
“Whilst economic volatility has impacted some major markets, solid growth has been maintained globally, with stability foreseen for this year and next,” Buhlmann said.
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“As advertising becomes more data-driven and complex, it’s crucial to move rapidly to navigate and meet the needs of the digital economy and this is reflected in the innovative capabilities and approach we provide to our clients.”
Closer to home, Carat notes that general confidence in the UK advertising market “continues at a steady pace”, with +6.2% growth forecast this year to reach US$25.8 billion (£17.9 billion).
Steady growth is expected to continue into 2017 at +5.7%, however this will be dependent on levels of economic confidence following the EU referendum in June.
Broken down, UK digital adspend is expected to grow +12.8% in 2016, mobile search +11%, desktop search +8% and TV +5%.
However, online video is set to grow at the highest rate this year at +21%, driven by a +31% increase in mobile video growth.
