• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 19, 2012

How much will your company spend on digital advertising this year?

GroupM estimates positive growth for digital media. The company released a digital spend media forecast as part of its biannual worldwide report. It forecast that growth in measured digital media investments will rise between 16% and 18% to approximately $99 billion globally in 2012, compared with a previous 16% forecast. 

The figure represents 20% of the 2012 measured ad spend.

Internet advertising budgets continue to grow in every country. The GroupM report forecast a 22% spending uptick in 2013, as digital spending trends continue an upward trend globally, regardless of local economic conditions.

In the United States, GroupM estimates search engine marketing will reach $18 billion in 2013, up from $16 billion in 2012, and $15 billion in 2011.

Not the same story for all ad spending. GroupM revised global ad spending in general downward, estimating 5.1% growth to $506 billion for global media spend in 2012, down from 6.3% projected late last year.

GroupM, which oversees agencies Mindshare, MediaCom, MEC and others, had predicted 6% growth for the year, reaching $522 billion in global ad spend. The 70-country forecast released in the biannual worldwide report "This Year, Next Year," also predicts global ad spending in 2013 will rise 5.3% to $533 billion.