Ad spending rebounded at record levels last year, marking a 22.5% increase in 2021 that followed a 3% contraction in 2020.
The fact that marketers last year found themselves with the permission to spend following a year of frozen budgets explains the record growth in ad spending. Similarly, global economies began to recover from the string of lockdowns in 2020, which in turn led to an increase in consumer demand, eventually leading to the rise in ad spend.
When it comes to different areas of ad spend, TV, audio, newspapers, magazines and outdoor – all lost their market share between 2020 and 2021. In contrast, digital claimed an increase in market share by nearly 4% between 2020 and 2021, followed by an increase of more than 8% in 2020 alone.
Apart from the spike in digital activity, publishers expanded their range of channels to include newsletters, video and audio. Ecommerce ad spend also grew from $18.7 billion in 2020 to $28.25 in 2021. According to projections, ecommerce ad spend would reach $63.8 billion in 2025.
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