Global Ad Spending To Grow By 7.4% In 2012

Thanks in part to the London Olympics, this year will be a good one for global advertising spend, which will rise by 7.4% to reach $542.3 billion.

This is according to the prognosis of eMarketer, which expects growth to lose some steam in 2013, slowing down to 6.4%. Latin America and the Asia Pacific will record the fastest growth, with adspend rising at about double the rate seen in other regions. Eastern Europe is also predicted to achieve a growth rate above the average.

One notable milestone expected to be passed next year has to do with China, which has consistently led the Asia Pacific region from strength to strength. In 2013, advertising outlay in China is projected to reach almost $53 billion, placing the country before Japan for the first time and making it number two in the global rankings. The US will remain the undisputed leader with $176.3 billion but the gap will continue to shrink in the years ahead as Chinese adspend keeps rising.

Online ad expenditure this year is projected to increase by 21.3% to $107.3 billion, a notch above the 21.1% recorded in 2011. However, eMarketer sees the expansion rate slowing down to 10.4% by 2016. Brisk growth in China, where online ad spending is expected to reach $7.36 billion, will allow the Asia Pacific to overtake Western Europe and grab the number two spot in the region league table next year. In 2014, the US will still be the world’s biggest online advertising market but the UK and Japan will slip in the rankings as China moves ahead to occupy the second position, eMarketer forecasts.