For 2024, Dentsu expects ad spending growth will pick back up, increasing by 4.7% to reach $762.5 billion, in part because of cyclical events such as the UEFA Euro Championship and the U.S. presidential election.
Predictions in the Dentsu report are on par with other agencies’ expectations. In March, IPG Mediabrands’ Magna predicted 2023 global ad sales would rise 3.4%, down from its December forecast, which called for 4.8% growth in 2023.
In 2023, digital ad spending is expected to moderate to 7.8% growth to $424.2 billion, an uncharacteristically low number only previously seen during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and after the 2008 financial crisis, according to Dentsu’s latest report. The digital market is reaching a state of maturity and is expected to settle into consistent single-digit growth for the next three years, accounting for about $3 of every $5 spent—or nearly 60% of market share—of advertising globally, according to Dentsu.
Innovations in technology, updated platforms, new channels and changes in planning behaviors will keep digital ad spend growth consistent, according to Peter Huijboom, global CEO of media international markets at Dentsu.
“For years now we’ve seen the industry pivot towards digital, more than doubling investment in the last five years, thanks in part to the almost unlimited potential to reach, engage and sell to individual consumers,” Huijboom said in a statement. “It has been one of the big drivers for growth, but with finite marketing budgets available to brands—it’s clear we are now starting to reach a point of digital maturation within the campaign mix alongside more traditional channels.”
