If inflation is taken into account, global adspend in real terms is expected to rise by 1.1% this year and a further 2.3% in 2016. The 12 markets studied comprise two-thirds of all advertising expenditure tracked by Warc.

India (13.0%) and China (6.9%) are predicted to record, the strongest annual increase in the adspend in 2016. However, both are susceptible to high levels of inflation. These two countries are followed by the UK, with estimated growth of 5.7% next year.

The US, the world’s largest ad market, is expected to see adspend rise 4.9% next year, boosted by the twin stimuli of the Summer Olympics and presidential elections. American television is the largest single medium for advertising in the world, and spend is expected to rise 4.8% to USD 175 billion in 2016, an upward revision of half a per cent since its last forecast in July.

Adspend on the internet
Across all key markets, internet adspend will continue to register rapid growth, rising 17.4% and 12.2% this year and next. Conversely, advertising expenditure for TV is estimated to have fallen by 2.5% this year, although these losses will be negated be a forecast 2.9% rise in 2016.

James McDonald, the data analyst at Warc, said, “The stimuli of major sporting and political events underpin our 4.4% growth forecast for global adspend next year. Digital growth is expected to remain in the double-digits, and ad tech is evolving rapidly.”

He added that programmatic trading is becoming commonplace, galvanising spend on so-called traditional media such as outdoor, radio and TV. “More is being spent to engage with the ‘always on’ consumer, and this has led to the internet becoming the largest ad medium among our 12 major markets,” he added.