• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, December 1, 2021

Following mid-single-digit declines in 2020, advertising and marketing spending -- including traditional, digital and alternative media -- is forecast to expand this year and for the foreseeable future, according estimates being released this morning as part of PQ Media's "Global Advertising & Marketing Spending Forecast."

The updated annual report projects total marketing spending in the U.S. will expand 8.7% this year to $539 billion, while worldwide marketing spending will rise 7.2% to $1.376 trillion.

“The robust recovery in overall global and U.S. media spending this year returns these markets to their pre-pandemic 2019 levels, fueled by double-digit growth in streaming audio and video advertising, digital videogame advertising, digital product placement, social media advertising and influencer marketing, among others," notes PQ CEO Patrick Quinn, adding, “But the good fortune hasn’t been shared by all media platforms, channels and top 20 markets in 2021, as we began to see a gradual leveling of some of the pandemic-fueled cyclical trends and the re-emergence of secular trends that have been driving the industry for years going into 2022.”

The report projects the U.S. will easily remain the world's biggest market, outpacing the global expansion by 1.5 percentage points, and accounting for a 39% share of worldwide marketing spending in 2022.

Combined digital and alternative media expenditures are on pace to grow 14.7% to $257.91 billion in the U.S. this year, while traditional advertising and marketing is estimated to finish the year up 3.7% to $281.13 billion.