Global Adspend Tumbles

NEW YORK, Tuesday: Global adspend is predicted to decline by 4.9% – amid unprecedented slowdowns at Google and Facebook. According to the research data analysed and published by StockApps.com, global ad spending could drop by 4.9% to US$ 614.73 billion in 2020.

Comparatively, 2019 saw an increase of 6.3% and eMarketer.com’s pre-pandemic forecast was a 7.0% growth rate for 2020.

Moreover, a WARC report echoed similar sentiments, predicting a higher decline of 8.1% and a drop to US$ 563 billion.

However, based on a Zenith study, ad markets will recover in 2021, enjoying a 5.8% growth rate, on the back of the postponed UEFA championship and Tokyo Summer Olympics, which will both be taking place in 2021.

“A Zenith study predicts ad markets will recover in 2021.”

Moreover, as eMarketer points out, as overall ad spend drops, digital ad spend will increase by 2.4%.

Tech giants Alphabet and Facebook are among those stung by the effects of ad revenue drops. Google suffered its first-ever quarterly decline in year-on-year revenue, while Facebook had its slowest revenue growth since its 2012 IPO.

Alphabet reported a 2% revenue drop overall and a net income decline of 43%.

YouTube advertising only grew 6% and total Google ad revenue by dropped 8.4%.

“Search & Other” revenue also declined by 9.8% during the quarter. Facebook, on the other hand, reported a mere 10% increase in ad revenue during the quarter. Though other operations reported a 40% increase in revenue, the total revenue increase was only 11%.

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