Global advertising spending to grow to US$615b this year

KUALA LUMPUR: Global advertising spending is expected to grow 3.9 per cent to US$615.4 billion this year, building on a growth of 2.6 per cent in 2019, according to Dentsu Aegis Network’s latest forecasts.

Based on data from 59 markets, Dentsu Aegis said events such as the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, UEFA European football championships, US presidential elections and APEC Malaysia this year would be a significant driver of increased ad-spend as advertisers look to capitalise on huge global audiences.

Dentsu Aegis said Malaysia’s ad-spend was expected to increase 4.5 per cent with digital segment growing 17.2 per cent for a 37.7 per cent share of total market spend, making it leading channel of choice.

“For Malaysia, Digital continues to energise ad-spend growth in 2020 and is forecast to grow 17.2 per cent, reaching US$522 million and 37.7 per cent of total spend. Growth remains strong into 2021, putting digital’s share of ad-spend at 41.9 per cent at the start of the new decade.

“Digital offers the potential to breathe new life into all traditional formats in the Malaysia market as Voice Assistants, addressable TV and programmatic ads drive global spending in these mediums,” it added.

Dentsu Aegis Network global chief executive officer Peter Huijboom said its forecasts pointed to a boost in ad spend as the world entered a year of important political and sporting events.

“Looking at local trends, the picture is more mixed with some key markets slowing down while emerging economies are powering up.

“Marketers in 2020 need to manage these contrasting dynamics; long and short term, global and local, digital and traditional. Ultimately, they need to remain focused on long-term sustainable growth by winning, keeping and growing their best customers,” said Huijboom in a statement.

Amplifi Malaysia acting head Satya Das said 2020 was projected to be a challenging year with minimal growth expected in the advertising space.

“We see that year-on-year, advertising expenditure is becoming increasingly fragmented. But, there are two key sporting events this year with the Tokyo Olympics and the UEFA European football championships which will drive ad investment.

“Trends from 2019 into 2020 indicate that ad-spend will be directed towards content creation, performance campaigns, social media, technology development, market automation data and identifying brand-building opportunities that offer improved market share and brand scores,” said Das.

Das also said there would be an increased focus on digital media energised by programmatic and sata science.

“Media vendors should resist the temptation to offer solutions that drive brands in the short-term and instead invest in and/or refresh services offerings that deliver on business outcomes for brands.

“Media agencies unquestionably need to embrace the new age of marketing automation tools and use them across media platforms for more efficient planning,” he added.