AD SPEND IN CHINA TO GROW 5.3% IN 2021

• Global advertising spend expected to grow 5.8% in 2021 as the industry begins to recoup the 8.8% fall in 2020 brought about by the impact of COVID-19
• Ad spend in China, the only key global market to see positive growth in 2020, is expected to continue grow 5.3% in 2021
• Ad spend in Asia Pacific expected to grow 5.9% in 2021
• Digital spend expected to buck the trend for half of all expenditure for the first time, reflecting the digital acceleration seen during the pandemic as people stay home
• Rise of Social Commerce and major global sporting events that were postponed in 2020 will also provide a welcome boost, especially in TV advertising
• While $579 billion will be spent globally in 2021, ad expenditure is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2022

Award-winning agency network, dentsu recently released its 2021 forecast on Global Advertising Spend (Ad Spend). The report was based on data derived from 59 markets and predicts global ad spend growth of 5.8% in 2021, amounting to USD579 billion. Ad spend in China is expected to grow 5.3% to reach RMB701 billion. While. At 70% share of total spend, digital is expected to continue its rapid growth at 9.1% in 2021, driven by social media (29.6%) and e-commerce (12.6%).   

Terrence Yung，dentsu media China CEO，said: “In China, we are experiencing a radical change brought on by social commerce, and as a result, the consumer journey has been completely disrupted. This is an exciting time for brands looking to build a direct connection with consumers. At dentsu, our integrated offering is well positioned to take our clients on that accelerated customer experience journey and beyond. Our latest report Global Ad Spend Forecasts sheds light on how the industry will rebound in 2021 including the top ten ad spend trends expected.”

Mobile-first markets, such as India and China, saw significant growth in mobile ad spend at 14.6% in China, during the period of 2019-2020. India showed strong momentum, at double the mobile ad spend in 2019-2020, growing 84% between 2019 and 2020;  an increase of USD729 million in this period and is predicted to grow as the pandemic continues to keep people at home. Singapore also more than doubled the mobile ad spend to USD284 million in 2020, an increase of USD161 million from 2019. Vietnam’s mobile spend rose by almost half (+49.1%) in 2020 vs the previous year. 

Download the dentsu 2021 Ad Spend Forecast report HERE.