Staff Reporters
Dec 2, 2021

2021 adspend growth to hit four-decade high: Warc forecast

Global advertising market to see record growth of 23.8% to $771 billion this year and hit $1 trillion in 2025.

2021 adspend growth to hit four-decade high: Warc forecast

Advertising spending for 2021 is on track to hit $771 billion, according to Warc, which also reports that this is the largest increase (23.8%) it has recorded in four decades of monitoring.

Spending is forecast to rise by a further 12.5% and 8.3% in 2022 and 2023, respectively,

Looking further ahead, adspend is on course to reach $1 trillion in 2025. However, three companies—Meta, Alphabet and Amazon—will absorb more than half of that.


A few other highlights from Warc's Global Advertising Trends report, available to Warc members (a sample is available here):

  • In 2023 the ecommerce sector will double more than double 2020’s level of spending to reach a total of $137.2 billion. 
  • Social media was the fastest-growing online sector in 2021, with spend rising 41.9% to $188.8 billion.
  • Alphabet is the world’s largest media owner and Google the largest individual platform: its advertising revenue will rise by 40.6% to $146.3 billion this year, taking 79.7% of all search spend and 19.0% of all advertising spend worldwide.
  • Google’s growth is set to ease to 14.8% in 2022, though 57% of practitioners surveyed by Warc are planning to increase spend on the platform next year.
  • Advertising spend on online audio rose by a third to $5.4 billion in 2021, with podcast spend up 50.9% and streaming up 28.4%. 

Related Articles

Just Published

7 hours ago

Indian brands remain resilient during global ...

Tata Consultancy Services retains its crown as India’s most valuable brand while HDFC Bank, Infosys, Airtel and SBI make up the top five

7 hours ago

Print in India to grow by 8-10% in 2024: ICRA

However, ad revenue will remain below pre-Covid levels despite the upcoming general elections

7 hours ago

APAC Effies 2023: Leo Burnett India finishes second ...

Whisper is brand of the year followed by Oreo and Dutchie Partners Life

7 hours ago

Ebiquity warns of 'risk averse' ad market as ...

Commentators point to 'soft' pitch market, but it is expected to pick up in 2024.