Australian ad market growth predicted to outpace global average as US and China falter
Advertising spend in Australia is forecast to stay ahead of global growth predictions, according to new research platform Warc.
The latest report says a slowdown in the US and China has lead to global growth expectations being downgraded by 2.5 percentage points to 2.3per cent, although Australia’s 2015 change has been revised up to 2.6 per cent, up 0.2 points on December’s figures.
Half of the 12 major markets have been downgraded in the latest 2015 outlook, with the global decline fuelled predominantly by the 15.1 per cent drop forecast for Russia.
The Warc Consensus Ad Forecast also indicates internet ad spend will continue to register “rapid growth”, rising 16.1 per cent and 12.9 per cent this year and next. This will position online space as the largest medium for advertising in 2016, the report states.
In addition, positive growth is expected for cinema (+3.2 per cent) and outdoor (+0.3 per cent) this year, while significant falls in spend on magazines (-10.4 per cent) and newspapers (-9.2 per cent), are predicted.
James McDonald, data analyst at Warc, said: “After a strong rise in global spend last year, the outlook for 2015 is more sobering.
“With three of the world’s largest economies now in recession, and slowdowns seen in the US and China, we expect a degree of caution when it comes to committing ad budgets this year.
“That said, advertisers have increased spend every year since the 2009 crash, with the influx of money for internet ads underlining the growing range of options for marketers.”
The data is based on a weighted average of adspend predictions at current prices from ad agencies, media monitoring companies, analysts, Warc’s own team and other industry bodies.
