Carat has produced its first forecast for worldwide advertising expenditure in 2017, combined with its latest forecasts for 2016 and actual figures for 2015. These show a positive global outlook led by digital.
Based on data received from 59 markets across the Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA, Carat predicts advertising spend will reach US$538 billion in 2016, a 4.5 per cent increase. For 2017 Carat predicts another 4.5 per cent.This is ahead of most estimates for growth in the global economy.
Digital is the biggest driver, especially mobile (+37.9 per cent), Online Video (+34.7 per cent) and Social Media (+29.8 per cent) in 2016. Carat says digital will account for 27 per cent of adspend in 2016 and 29.3 per cent in 2017, reaching US$161 billion globally.
In 2015 all regions reported positive growth, from Western Europe at 2.8 per cent, 4.3 per cent in North America, 3.6 per cent in Asia Pacific and Latin America at +11 per cent. Regional confidence is predicted to continue in most regions in 2016, despite volatility in some individual markets.
TV is still the biggest medium with a 42 per cent share in 2015 and spend is predicted to grow by 3.1 per cent this year as the Olympic Games and US elections generate significant TV audiences. The outlook for print is less rosy with newspapers set to decline by 5.4 per cent and magazines by 1.7 per cent in 2016. Other media are predicted to grow in 2016: outdoor by 3.4 per cent, radio by 2.2 per cent and cinema by 2.8 per cent. Cinema is forecast to leap to five per cent growth in 2017.
