Tech firms’ global ad spend rises

The figures, which are based on data from media owners and Nielsen, said that the advertising spend by large tech firms was up 49.4% year-on-year.

If growth continues at the current rate, it mean that the world’s eight biggest tech platforms – Alibaba, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Baidu, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Netflix and Tencent (WeChat) – would account for 10% of global advertising by 2030.

Warc found that the biggest tech firms accounted for more than a tenth of global advertising spending growth in 2021, and were the faster growing category included in Warc’s analysis.

Amazon was the largest spender on advertising in the world, investing $16.9bn in ads, the most ever spent by a single company within a 12-month period and 55% up from 2020.

Alex Brownsell, head of content at Warc Media, said: “Big Tech businesses have come a long way from being ad investment sceptics, to ranking among the biggest-spending advertisers in the world. As their dominance of the mobile-first digital commerce marketplace increases, so too their share of total global ad spend is likely to grow.

“It underscores that, while digitally-native brands can succeed in the short term without the support of ad spend, long-term success often depends upon a willingness to invest in performance-enhancing and brand-building advertising.”