ZO study revises marginally downward global ad market growth

But expects London Olympics, US Presidential elections to act as major growth drivers in 2012

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | December 6, 2011

According to a new forecast put out by media agency ZenithOptimedia, the global advertising market is expected to grow at a faster rate than the world economy in 2012, driven by factors such as the US Presidential election and the London Olympics.

This forecast is despite the fact that expectations have slipped in recent months. According to the revised forecast, the global ad market will grow by 3.5 per cent in 2011 and by 4.7 per cent in 2012, down from the forecast in October of 3.6 per cent growth in 2011 and 5.3 per cent in 2012.

The reduction stems from the European debt crisis and its impact on business confidence although overall the forecast shows that advertising has held up well during the uncertainty. Zenith attributes much of the strong spending to the fact that unlike the downturn in 2008, companies have cash available to spend and are prepared to use it to grow market share.

The Japanese market should also rebound as it recovers from the huge earthquake in March, and the European football championships in 2012 next year should also attract marketing spend.

Zenith expects Western Europe to grow by just 2 per cent in 2012 even though the London Olympics and the soccer championships will lift spending. North America was described as looking “decidedly healthier” with growth of 3.6 per cent forecast for 2012.

The forecast expects developing markets – those outside North America, Western Europe and Ja

"The global ad market is therefore remarkably strong at a time when the Eurozone threatens to fall back into recession and drag down the growth of its trading partners," the group said. "In general, advertisers have built up large cash reserves and -- thanks to exceptionally loose monetary policy in the developed world -- are earning very little interest on this cash."

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com