Expectations for global ad spend growth have fallen from 5.1% to 3.8%, according to the latest forecast from global ad publisher Warc.
But despite the downward trend, Australia's ad spend projection has had a small lift by 0.1 % to 2.8% predicted growth for this year.
While India has seen a small drop in projected growth of 0.2%, the country is expected to see the strongest annual rate of growth, with a 13.4% rise in ad spend. The US China, Brazil, Canada, Italy and Russia have all seen their adspend outlook downgraded.
Russia has seen the largest single downgrade by 15%, following economic hardship brought on by the low price of oil and decreased consumer spending.
Apart from newspapers and magazines, all media are predicted to record year-on-year growth in 2015, with internet expected to see the greatest ad spend rise, up 17.1% after a +1.1% revision.
TV growth was downgraded by 1.8%, with global TV ad revenue now forecast to rise just 0.8% this year following weaker results in the US and China.
Research Analyst at Warc, James McDonald, said: “The latest consensus results demonstrate just how quickly economic tides can turn, especially among emerging markets. Yet despite the more challenging conditions, ad spend growth is still widely anticipated this year and next, a fact which demonstrates the robust nature of the advertising industry at large.
“It is interesting to note that, despite more muted expectations for other media, experts have actually raised their forecasts for online ad spend growth over the course of this year. With over US$130bn spent on digital ads worldwide last year, 17.1% growth in 2015 would highlight marketers’ increasing regard for the medium, with the adoption of mobile and video formats in particular growing exponentially,” he said.
Earlier this week Carat published its updated predictions for worldwide advertising spend for 2015 and 2016, which forecasts Australia to return to positive growth in 2015. The Dentsu Aegis Network-owned media agency said advertising expenditure in 2015 is set to increase by +2.4% to reach AUD $13.6 billion.
Warc's Consensus Ad Forecast is based on a weighted average of ad spend predictions at current prices from ad agencies, media monitoring companies, analysts, and other industry bodies. Current sources include Carat, eMarketer, GroupM, Magna Global, Nikkei Advertising Research Institute (NARI), Pitch-Maddison, Pivotal Research Group and ZenithOptimedia.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.