According the the latest worldwide market study by eMarketer, 2010 brought a welcome return to growth after the devastating global economic recession.
The expectation was that this year would continue this positive trend, but in several major markets -- including the U.S. and UK -- the onset of a second recession is casting a dark shadow over mainstream marketer and advertiser outlooks.
Economic turbulence will typically impact advertising spending in a negative way. But global advertising spending will still approach $500 billion this year, eMarketer estimates, and digital advertising will remain strong -- following a 2010 upswing, in which growth in online ad spending outpaced all other platforms.
eMarketer forecasts that North America will continue to draw the greatest share of online advertising spending of any region -- with over 40 percent of the worldwide total. The Western European share of online spending will decline as emerging markets in Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe experience an increase in spending.
Moreover, mobile devices are transforming the media landscape in every corner of the world -- especially in regions where they represent the primary form of broadband internet access. But mobile device usage patterns still vary significantly, even within single regions of the world.
As an example, within the Asia-Pacific region, at least 83 percent of individuals in South Korea and Japan will use a mobile phone this year. While India will register just 52 percent market penetration. That being said, markets with lower mobile usage are catching up fast.
Within four years, mobile phone penetration in Asia-Pacific will climb from an estimated 55.4 percent to nearly 73 percent, and the region will reach 2.9 billion mobile phone users. Besides, there are noteworthy regional differences in the gender balance in mobile audiences.
Similarly, the link between affluence and smartphone or mobile web adoption seen in many Western nations is apparently not always a foregone conclusion in other regions.
Mobile ad spending in the U.S. will reach $1.23 billion this year, and will surpass spending in Japan, the current largest single-country market, by the end of 2012. While spending levels in emerging markets like the BRIC nations are lower, growth is strong.
Some markets will represent a unique upside market opportunity, relative to the others. eMarketer anticipates that mobile advertiser spending in China alone to top $1 billion by 2014.