Zenith adjusts ad spend forecast up

ZenithOptimedia has adjusted its ad spend forecast upwards, predicting that the global market will grow by 5.5% in 2014, reaching $537 billion by the end of the year. That forecast is up 0.2% from the last report in December. Ad spend in North America is expected to grow by 4.8% this year, bolstered by the Winter Olympics and mid-term elections.

Ad spend in Canada is expected to grow by 3.5% in 2014 versus 2013, with larger gains expected in 2015 and 2016.

The internet is the fastest growing medium measured on the global market, and is expected to increase by an average of 16% each year between 2014 and 2016. Display is the fastest growing sub-category, with 21% annual growth, due in part thanks to the rise of social media advertising, which is growing at 29% a year. Online video is expected to grow at 23% per year for the next three years.

Mobile advertising is growing six times faster than desktop, and is forecast to grow at a pace of 50% annually from 2014 to 2016. In contrast, advertising on desktop is forecast to grow at 8% per year in that time period.

Despite the internet’s speed of growth, TV remains the dominant ad platform, accounting for 40% of all ad spend in 2013, almost twice of what internet advertising takes up (21%). TV ad spend is expected to grow 5.2% in 2014, benefiting from things like the Winter Olympics, World Cup and mid-term US elections.

Canada is number nine in the top 10 ad spenders globally, with $11.57 billion for 2013. The US is #1, with $167.29 billion.

In Canada, the internet took up the biggest piece of the advertising pie in 2013, with 30.8%, followed by TV with 30.4%.