![[South Africa] Advertising spend to grow over 6.1% next year, WARC study](ArticleImages/2023/Q2/Advertising.jpg)
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[South Africa] Advertising spend to grow over 6.1% next year, WARC study
Africa is enduring a difficult year, with advertising spend set to be down 11.6%. This is according to a new study released by WARC.The study however notes that growth should return in 2024, buoyed by a 6.1% rise in South Africa next year.
Further insights from the report reveal that global advertising spend is on course to grow 4.4 per cent this year and a further 8.2 per cent in 2024, when expenditure will have topped $1trn for the first time.
The report, released last week combines data from WARC’s proprietary survey of media owners, industry bodies, ad agencies and research organisations in 100 markets worldwide. It also features advertising revenue data from 40 of the largest media owners to offer a complete picture of the advertising trade.
The report notes that the US is set to account for just under a third (31.3%) of global spend, with a forecast rise of 2.2% this year and a further 7.6% in 2024 to reach $326.7bn. The Middle East on the other hand is among the smallest regions (just 0.7% of global spend) but is anticipated to be the fastest-growing over the forecast period, with spend up 10% in 2023 and 6.2% in 2024.
South Asia is also growing rapidly (+8.9% this year, +12.1% next year), buoyed by a strong Indian market. Ad spend in India is forecast to grow by double digits over the next 18 months to reach a total of $13.7bn in 2024.
Advertising spend in Europe is also set to rise just 0.6% this year, before the rate of growth increases to 3.6% in 2024 as economic headwinds ease. The UK – the largest single ad market in the region with a 4.6% share – is set to see a dip of 1% this year when measured in US dollars.
“High interest rates, spiralling inflation, military conflict and natural disasters have made for a bitter cocktail over the preceding 12 months, but the latest earnings season shows that the ad market has withstood this turbulence and has now turned a corner,” says James McDonald, director of Data, Intelligence and Forecasting at WARC.
According to the report, five major tech firms – Alibaba, Alphabet (owner of Google and YouTube), Amazon, ByteDance (owner of TikTok and Douyin) and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) – will together take over half of global advertising spend this year.
“Our new measurements show how the fortunes of just five companies have a major bearing on the prospects of the industry at large, and that these companies are on course to record oversized gains in the coming months,” explains McDonald in the report.
