Global adspend growth to slow in 2017

All major media channels, with the exception of newspapers and magazines, are set to record adspend growth this year and next. But the two largest – TV and internet – are expected to see their growth rate ease during 2017. This is also reportedly true of mobile, though this is still set to be the fastest-growing ad channel over the period. 

The forecast is based on a weighted average of adspend predictions at current prices from ad agencies, media monitoring companies, analysis, Warc’s own team and other industry bodies. 

All 13 markets included in the report (India, China, Russia, Spain, UK, US, Australia, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Canada, Japan, France) are forecast to see the amount spent on advertising rise this year and next year. But the growth rate is anticipated to be slower for eight of them.

India is expected to see the strongest growth in adspend this year ( 13.3%), with the US forecast to grow by 5.1%. The UK is expected to grow by 5.6% this year and 4.3% next year. 

"The latest consensus results present a positive outlook for advertising investment at both a global and local level," said James McDonald, senior research analyst at Warc.

"All 13 markets studied are expected to record adspend growth in the short term, and this despite their contrasting socio-economic environments.

"We have identified a common trend among more mature markets whereby increasing investment in internet – particularly mobile – ad formats is driving headline growth. Applying consensus trends to Warc’s adspend data shows that mobile will grow to be the world’s third-largest ad channel by the end of 2016."