Global ad spend on growth path

Advertising spending worldwide is seen to return to pre-crisis levels, with developing markets in Asia-Pacific compensating for either declines or slow growth in developed economies and conflict-ridden territories.

According to British media services firm ZenithOptimedia, global ad spending should hit $471.3 billion this year, the same as the peak level reached in 2008, before most of the key economies in the world went into recession.

This represents a 4.1-percent spending improvement from the previous year’s $452.7 billion.

Spending in the Americas and Europe, however, will continue to be soft, due mainly to high fuel prices, which have depressed both consumer and corporate spending.

The Middle East and North Africa region was likely to experience a huge ad spending drop—as much as 12.1 percent—from ZenithOptimedia’s previous projection of a 0.1-percent growth.

“The political turmoil has spread further, and advertisers have continued to pull campaigns in the three relatively large ad markets that have been engulfed in this turmoil—Bahrain, Egypt, and Oman—as well as cut back their exposure in pan-regional media,” the media service firm said in its latest report.

The region should register an 8.9-percent rebound by next year, assuming that the political situation there stabilizes.

Offsetting the ad spending slowdown in other regions is the continued increased spending in Asia-Pacific, which is expected to grow by 5.9 percent this year.

The effects of the Japan crisis were not as bad as expected, ZenithOptimedia said, prompting it to hike its previous forecast of a 4.6-percent growth to a 5.9-percent expansion for the year.