• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, September 24, 2015

Global ad spending will continue to grow, but more slowly than previously forecast by eMarketer. In 2015, total worldwide ad spending will reach $569.65 billion. This figure has been adjusted downward from $577.79 forecast in March, due to lower-than-expected ad spending in Latin America, North America, and Western Europe.

Spending on paid media worldwide will climb 5.7% in 2015, propelled by increased investments in digital advertising. As digital changes the way people access and consume media, it is also driving advertiser optimism and ad budget growth. Global digital ad expenditures will jump 18.0% in 2015 to reach $170.17 billion, or 29.9% of the total advertising market, says the report.

The outlook for the global ad spending through 2019 remains optimistic, with advertisers gaining confidence as stability returns to most major economies. Worldwide ad spending will reach $719.20 billion by the end of 2019. However, the pace of growth will vary widely across regions, with Western Europe seeing the slowest growth and Latin America experiencing the fastest, based on a variety of factors, including economic growth and the level of digital media maturity.

North America has the highest ad spending worldwide, with $195.26 billion predicted in 2015. However, by 2019 Asia-Pacific will overtake North America as the leading advertising market by $1.35 billion.

Growth in North America is slower than previously forecast. Total ad spending will grow 4.5% this year, less than the 5.2% forecast in March. The downward adjustment is the result of lower-than-expected expenditures on TV, newspaper, radio and magazines in the US, says the report.

eMarketer analyst, Shelleen Shum, says "… advertising investments in traditional media like TV, newspapers and magazines have been negatively affected by increased spending in digital formats… online editions for magazines and newspapers, and digital video replacing traditional TV… “

In addition to having the world's largest overall ad market, North America has the largest digital ad market. Advertisers in the region will spend $62.07 billion on digital formats in 2015, a 16.8% increase over 2014. This year, 31.8% of total media ad expenditures will go toward digital formats, a share which is expected to reach 41.4% by 2019, says the report.

And, with a mobile internet ad market valued at $31.53 billion for 2015 and 43.8% of the world's mobile ad expenditures, North America has the highest mobile internet ad spending in the world and the most developed mobile ad market, concludes the study. Mobile expenditures in the US will total $30.2 billion in 2015, while those in Canada will reach $1.3 billion this year. Both the US and Canada will record double-digit growth in mobile throughout the forecast period, fueled particularly by increased spending on mobile video, mobile social networks and mobile search formats.

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