Hardworking business development managers can take a well-deserved bow today, as news emerges that their efforts have helped position internet advertising at the forefront of a steady global recovery in advertising.
So says the latest Advertising Expenditure Forecast from ZenithOptimedia. The global market is set to expand by 3.5 percent this year, 5.1 percent next year and 5.8 percent in 2015.
Internet advertising leads the way
The main driver of the growth in adspend is internet advertising, the report reveals, and it’s expected to play a lead role in the expansion expected between 2014 and the following year. Jobbing business development managers are, it seems, doing more than their bit to push things along. Internet advertising is projected to grow by 15 percent each year between 2012 and 2015 and will account for 66 percent of global ad spend growth, the study predicts.
Digital innovations such as the increase in localization, growing integration with mobile and more accurate measurement of exposure to ads are propelling the recovery, ZenithOptimedia believes, along with the irrepressible rise of social media and online video, which will go on growing by 30 percent a year.
The move to mobile
The report forecasts that mobile, too, will enjoy impressive growth. Already the quickest growing zone in internet advertising, it’ll expand by 67 percent in 2013 and by around 51 percent a year to 2015. The voracious uptake of tablets and smartphones are largely responsible for this rise.
It’s come as no surprise to most experienced business development managers that desktop internet advertising is growing considerably less vigorously, on course for a mere 10 percent year on year rise. The report puts total global ad spending for 2012 at $8.52 billion (£5.5 billion), 9.8 percent of which was internet spend. The total, the report confidently predicts, will surge to $29.42 billion (£19 billion) by 2015, with internet ad spend accounting for 21.9 percent.
ZenithOptimedia’s CEO (Worldwide) said, “Internet advertising is driving adspend growth, and after several years of market expectation, mobile is at the forefront of this. Mobile devices are now integral parts of the lives of many consumers around the world, but still present huge untapped potential for marketers to engage with consumers in a personal, interactive and highly effective way.”
