NEWS12 January 2018

Global ad spend growth up 3.6% in 2018

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UK – Large-scale events in 2018 such as the FIFA World Cup, the Winter Olympics and Paralympics and US Congressional elections will all help ad spend growth which is expected to increase 3.6% this year (up from 3.1% in 2017 ), according to Dentsu Aegis.

Its latest ad spend forecasts are based on data from 59 markets and while global spend is predicted to reach $589.2bn, the performance of individual countries is mixed.

Ad spend in the US, Germany and India will grow faster in 2018 than the previous year, the UK, Russia and China are slowing down.

Elsewhere, digital media channels continue to power ad spend growth, growing globally by 12.6% in 2018, compared with 15% in 2017, to reach $220.3bn.

Digital ad spend will account for 38.3% share with paid search the biggest element with 40% of digital ad spend, while voice-activated devices are also growing. Amazon’s Alexa app was the top app for Android and iPhone on Christmas Day 2017.

Jerry Buhlmann, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network, said: "The forecasts show a market in transformation, but not recession. The challenge for brands is to navigate an uneven economic outlook alongside a rapidly evolving tech & innovation landscape. In many markets, disruptive innovation – from mobile, voice activation and new ad tech players – is still providing new sources of growth and we forecast this trend will continue into 2018.

"Succeeding in this environment requires relentless focus on understanding the consumer, using data to reach real people, driving relevance, addressability and business growth."

Table: Forecast ad spend growth rates by region and country

	*Year on year % growth at current prices*
	2016a	2017f	2018f
GLOBAL	4.7 ( 4.8 )	3.1 ( 3.8 )	3.6 ( 4.3 )
NORTH AMERICA	4.8 ( 5.0 )	2.5 ( 3.6 )	3.1 ( 4.0 )
USA	5.0 ( 5.0 )	2.6 ( 3.6 )	3.2 ( 4.0 )
CANADA	0.1 ( 3.1 )	0.0 ( 3.1 )	1.1 ( 2.7 )
W. EUROPE	4.1 ( 4.0 )	3.3 ( 3.5 )	2.6 ( 3.6 )
UK	6.1 ( 6.1 )	3.2 ( 4.0 )	2.9 ( 5.9 )
GERMANY	2.8 ( 2.3 )	2.2 ( 2.6 )	2.6 ( 3.0 )
FRANCE	0.9 ( 0.9 )	1.7 ( 1.6 )	2.0 ( 2.0 )
ITALY	3.5 ( 3.5 )	0.9 ( 0.8 )	1.9 ( 1.5 )
SPAIN	6.8 ( 6.8 )	1.9 ( 5.0 )	1.4 ( 3.6 )
C&EE	7.6 ( 7.6 )	8.3 ( 6.6 )	7.4 ( 6.0 )
RUSSIA	11.4 ( 11.4 )	12.9 ( 9.8 )	10.4 ( 7.8 )
ASIA PACIFIC	4.6 ( 4.7 )	3.5 ( 4.3 )	4.2 ( 4.6 )
AUSTRALIA	4.5 ( 4.8 )	2.7 ( 4.1 )	2.9 ( 4.8 )
CHINA	7.4 ( 7.4 )	6.0 ( 6.0 )	5.4 ( 5.4 )
INDIA	11.9 ( 11.9 )	9.6 ( 13.0 )	12.5 ( 12.2 )
JAPAN	1.9 ( 1.9 )	1.0 ( 1.7 )	1.6 ( 1.7 )
LATIN AMERICA	9.1 ( 11.9 )	8.1 ( 7.0 )	8.8 ( 8.9 )
BRAZIL	5.4 ( 5.4 )	2.1 ( 2.1 )	5.0 ( 5.0 )
	Figures in brackets show its previous forecasts from June 2017. Source: Dentsu Aegis