Skip to main content

Traditional Ad Spending Worldwide Outlook


The traditional advertising industry is not the place to be right now -- unless you have a very high tolerance for stress. eMarketer reports that the decline in overall ad spending is not only continuing, it is getting steeper on a month-to-month basis.

As an example, ZenithOptimedia revised their ad spending forecasts downward. After forecasting a 6.9 percent decline in advertising spending worldwide in April, they're now estimating a drop of 8.5 percent.

Zenith analysts predict a recovery to begin in 2010, but not in North America. Q1 spending was lower than expected and Q2 outlays continued to slide. Zenith says total worldwide spending for 2009 will be $456.5 billion, down from nearly $500 billion last year.

Few markets are growing, such as China and India. Zenith predicts ad spending in China will increase by 5.4 percent in 2009, exceeding the UK to become the world's fourth-largest ad market.

The Internet is the only medium that will enjoy spending growth this year -- rising to an estimated $56.8 billion worldwide.

The Internet share of total ad spending will grow more than 2 percent. Shares for other media will remain relatively flat -- with the exception of newspapers, where the downward spiral has accelerated.

Business magazine advertising is apparently the next sector going into a free-fall of decline. Here's an example of the ad revenue results for some leading B2B publications.

Popular posts from this blog

Bold Broadband Policy: Yes We Can, America

Try to imagine this scenario, that General Motors and Ford were given exclusive franchises to build America's interstate highway system, and also all the highways that connect local communities. Now imagine that, based upon a financial crisis, these troubled companies decided to convert all "their" local arteries into toll-roads -- they then use incremental toll fees to severely limit all travel to and from small businesses. Why? This handicapping process reduced the need to invest in building better new roads, or repairing the dilapidated ones. But, wouldn't that short-sighted decision have a detrimental impact on the overall national economy? It's a moot point -- pure fantasy -- you say. The U.S. political leadership would never knowingly risk the nation's social and economic future on the financial viability of a restrictive duopoly. Or, would they? The 21st century Global Networked Economy travels across essential broadband infrastructure. The forced intro...