WARC’s latest global research reports 2020 as worst year for traditional ads

WARC released its latest report on global ad trends and the state of the industry for 2020/2021 which reviews global advertising investment, media consumption and CPM inflation. 

The report summarizes the company’s latest research from 100 markets worldwide and shows that 2020 was the worst year on record for traditional advertising media, while the online market failed to record growth for the first time since the Dotcom crash.

The report also shows that Adspend excluding political campaigning in the US was down by 11.0% to USD 552bn this year with the rate of decline double compared to the last recession in real terms. The automotive, retail, and travel & tourism sectors all cut ad budgets sharply this year.

Other key-findings include:

• Media owners saw revenues fall by a combined USD 63bn in 2020.
• Ad market decline this year is double that of the Great Recession after accounting for inflation.
• Ad investment is forecast to rise by 6.7% next year, meaning only 59% of this year’s losses will be recouped.
• The majority of ad money will be transacted by machines for the first time in 2021.
• Online video is the only format to have its 2020 growth estimate upgraded, and it will lead growth in 2021.
• All product categories are set to increase spend next year, though only three will top their 2019 total.

To download the full report, click here.