10 Things You Should Know About the Global Ad Market

Spin the globe in 2014 and you'll see positive signs for advertising across the planet. Ad spending finally is on track to increase in all regions, and the pace of global spending is picking up. Here are 10 points to keep in mind about the worldwide ad market. Insights gleaned from a forecast that Publicis Groupe's ZenithOptimedia is releasing today: Global ad spending is gaining momentum. Worldwide spending will rise a robust 5.3% in 2014 and 5.8% in 2015 and 2016, up from 3.6% in 2013. Put another way, the ad market next year will essentially match its pre-recession growth rate (5.4% in 2007). Global spending is at an all-time high. Ad spending in 2013 will top $500 billion for the first time. That's $90 for each person living in the markets tracked by ZenithOptimedia. U.S. spending remains below pre-recession levels. The U.S. won't pass its 2007 ad-spending peak (about $178 billion) until 2015. But U.S. ad growth is accelerating; ZenithOptimedia predicts a 4.7% increase in 2014, the fastest growth since 2004. It expects a 4.6% increase in 2015 and 4.1% in 2016. Worldwide Ad Spending by Medium All regions are rising. Latin America has been the fastest-growing region in ad spending since 2010 and will keep that lead position through 2016. Latin America growth will accelerate each year from 2013 (8.1%) through 2016 (12.7%). Spending in Asia Pacific will score solid single-digit gains in the range of 6% to 7% through 2016. Western Europe will see modest growth of 1.9% in 2014 and 2.3% in both 2015 and 2016 following declines in 2012 and 2013. The internet is now the world's second-largest ad medium. It rocketed past newspapers in 2013 into the No. 2 spot, behind TV. As recently as 2005, the internet ranked sixth in global ad media, behind TV, newspapers, magazines, radio and outdoor. The internet in 2013 captured 20.6% of 2013 global ad spending (21.7% in the U.S.). In 2016, ZenithOptimedia expects the internet to account for 26.6% of global spending (30.7% in the U.S.). China remains a hot spot. Ad spending grew and will keep growing in the range of 10% each year from 2012 through 2016. China is the No. 3 ad market (behind the U.S. and Japan) and in 2013 had the fastest growth among the world's 10 largest ad markets. The most China-centric advertisers among Ad Age's 100 Largest Global Marketers: fast-food seller Yum Brands (KFC), which placed 32.8% of its 2012 measured-media spending in China; energy-drink marketer Red Bull (27.5%); and watchmaker Swatch Group (24.1%). BRIC bloc is ascending. Russia in 2015 will become one of the 10 largest ad markets, joining China and Brazil. In India, currently the No. 14 market, ad spending will grow 39% in 2016 vs. 2013, making India one of the 10 fastest-growing countries for advertising. Facts from Ad Age's Global Marketers report: U.S. is home to 41 of the 100 Largest Global Marketers. Europe is headquarters for 36; Asia, 23. Among the 100 marketers, 94 advertised in the U.S. Six firms had no 2012 measured-media spending in the U.S.: two telecoms (France's Orange and the U.K.'s Vodafone, which is selling its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to Verizon Communications); two French automakers (PSA Peugeot Citroën and Renault); France's Carrefour, one of the world's biggest retailers; and Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa, which owns telecom ventures, ports and other holdings. Tech spending is soaring. Consumer electronics and technology is the fastest-growing ad category among the Global 100, with a 9.6% increase in 2012 measured-media spending. Leading the charge: Samsung Electronics, whose measured spending surged 55.1%, the highest growth among the Global 100. Personal care cleans up. It's the world's biggest ad category among the 100 Largest Global Marketers. Personal-care marketers make up about a fourth of 2012's Global 100 spending. The three biggest global advertisers have the world in a lather: Procter & Gamble Co., Unilever and L'Oréal.

10 Things You Should Know About the Global Ad Market

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