Agency giant forecasts global ad spend uptick for 2010 and beyond

July 19, 2010 by Dave Haynes

Agency giant Zenith Optimedia‘s latest ad spend forecasts a modest growth in globally, with the big US market on the lethargic side and Canada growing faster than average.

The US was expected to contract this year but is now expected to grow by 1.3% in 2010. Canada, which didn’t entirely dodge the Great Recession but weathered it better, is expected to grow by 5.4% this year.

Highlights of the latest forecast:

• The advertising recovery continues to strengthen: ZenithOptimedia upgrades its forecast for global ad growth this year from 2.2% to 3.5%
• We now expect all regions to manage at least some growth this year after a stronger-than-expected first half, particularly in the US and Western Europe
• Still a stark contrast between the slow-growing developed world and fast-paced developing markets
• Global growth should rise steadily over the next three years, with 4.5% growth in 2011 and 5.3% in 2012
• The healthy third year after the downturn repeats the pattern of the last two recessions, though with lower growth this time
• Very rapid growth in internet mobile and social media will help drive the internet’s share of ad expenditure from 12.7% in 2009 to 17.1% in 2012, narrowing the gap between the internet and newspapers to just two percentage points

The news release of the forecast is here. The full forecast costs about $600 US.