Despite economic worries, global advertising will grow 8.4% this year: Report

14 Jun 2022 , 12:11 PM

Despite current geopolitical issues throughout the world and worries of a recession, the worldwide advertising business is anticipated to increase by 8.4% this year, according to a report released on Monday (13-06-2022).

This amount does not include the influence of political advertising in the United States, which is expected to hit $13 billion in revenue this year, up from $12 billion in 2020, according to research by ad agency GroupM, a unit of WPP PLC.

The advertising market, which normally reflects the health of countries, is leveling down after reaching new highs in 2021, fueled by robust economic recovery and personal expenditure.

According to the research, sources of growth in 2022 include an increase in the number of new small firms, which are expected to advertise at greater levels than the enterprises they replace; venture-funded “new economy” advertisers pursuing expansion; and Chinese marketers promoting abroad. Growth will be slowed by the predicted slowdown in e-commerce and interest rate rises.

“Although the overall economy and environment are more negative now than they were in December, I believe many pundits and people in our industry are overly negative relative to how the overall economy is faring,” said Brian Wieser, GroupM’s president of business intelligence, in a call with journalists.

Ad income for pure-play digital platforms is expected to climb 11.5 percent in 2022, down from 32 percent in 2021, according to the analysis. With the exception of U.S. political advertising, digital advertising on those platforms will account for 67 percent of the industry’s overall revenue this year.

Television advertising is predicted to expand 4.4 percent in 2022, thanks to ad-supported streaming services like Pluto, which is owned by Paramount Global, and Tubi, which is owned by Fox Corp. In the next five years, the rise of television advertising is expected to level out. According to the research, YouTube, which is controlled by Alphabet, will become “increasingly like a substitute for television” for many advertisers.