The global advertising industry has been suffering ever since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, causing millions of businesses to sharply reduce their marketing budgets. However, in recent months signs of recovery have been steadily emerging, signaling the start of a turnaround for the advertising market.
The pandemic caused sharp declines in all forms of advertising. Digital, mobile, and television advertising all saw double digit declines, with total global ad spending down 11.4% from 2019. Although these declines were steep, the overall trend has been heading in the right direction since mid-2020.
In the US, digital ad spending was down 8.2% in the first quarter of 2021 as compared to the same period in 2020. Still, this was a marked improvement from earlier in 2020 when digital ad spending dropped as much as 24%. Similarly, television ad spending in the US decreased just 5.5% in Q1 2021 as compared to the same quarter of 2020. These positive trends indicate that marketers are becoming more willing to invest in advertising as business conditions improve.
Outside of the US, the ad market recovery has been even more pronounced. China’s digital ad market has seen strong growth, with a 106.2% increase in spending over the same quarter of 2020. Similarly, in Europe we have seen digital ad spending surpass pre-pandemic levels in some countries, despite the region as a whole still being down.
It’s clear that the advertising market is well on its way to recovery. Advertisers are feeling increasing confidence in the economic recovery and are willing to invest in marketing once again. This means that traditional media outlets and digital channels alike can return to the high levels of ad spending seen prior to 2020. All in all, the ad market is once again back in business.
