GroupM updates ad revenue growth predictions

Following sustained market growth in the first half of the year, GroupM has posted a revised version of its ‘This Year Next Year’ report, a global forecast for 2021 and beyond.

In a statement, GroupM said that at the halfway point of the year, advertising growth is ‘far exceeding previous expectations”, with some of the same factors contributing to growth prior to the pandemic, and also COVID itself now acting as an accelerant.

These contributing factors include “faster expansions of app ecosystems, rapid small business formation activities and the growing role of cross-border media marketplaces, especially involving manufacturers based in China”.

The report also highlights the four areas that were considered in extra detail at the halfway point of the year:
– “Digital advertising is now forecast to see 26% growth for all forms of pure-play digital media versus 15% at the time of our December update.
– Television advertising is now expected to grow by 9.3% in 2021, an improvement from our prior 7.8% expectation.
– Audio advertising were raised significantly in this update, with a forecast now at 18% growth rather than December’s 8.7% level.
– Out-of-home advertising should fare well, growing by 19% in 2021.”