Marketers, despite feeling the pinch from slowing consumer spending, are optimistic about the size of their budgets this year, according to Nielsen's sixth Annual Marketing Report.
Almost three-quarters (72%) of the nearly 2,000 global marketers surveyed expect bigger advertising budgets this year, up from 64% last year.
APAC is more bullish, with 81% anticipating budget increases, versus 56% in 2023.
In Australia, brands have been stretching budgets thinner in an uncertain economic environment hurting consumers.
Ad spend so far this calendar year is 6% below last year, which was 2.5% higher than pre-pandemic 2019. Analysts expend a lift in digital channels and for TV to benefit from the Paris Olympics.
The world braced for a recession last year but one didn't materialise.
"But that didn’t stop budgets getting slashed and significant layoffs across nearly every sector," says Nielsen.
"While this year may be poised for more of the same, global marketers are staying optimistic."
On average, global marketers plan to dedicate 63% of budgets to digital channels, with social media, search, online video and digital display accounting for the largest increases.
Last year’s respondents said they allocated about half of their 2022 budgets to digital channels.
A planned increase in search and CTV follow a familiar trend in recent years, driven by perceived effectiveness and growing usage.
The rise of retail media networks as a lucrative channel has marketers readily adding them to their media plans. In 2024, nearly 70% of global marketers say the importance of retail media in their planning is more important than it was a year ago.
Industry ad spending forecasts for the year are similarly optimistic, as several leading media investment companies are predicting ad spend growth ranging from 4% to 7%1. They also expect retail media, search and CTV to drive the biggest increases.
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