• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, March 13, 2023

The easing of COVID-19 restrictions is accelerating China's economy, and ad spending along with it, according to an update released late last week by GroupM's.

Following a year of tepid ad-spending growth -- just 0.6% in 2022 -- China's ad industry is projected to expand 6.3% this year, according to the report, which was jointly authored by GroupM Global Director of Business Intelligence Kate Scott-Dawkins and GroupM Greater China CEO Patrick Xu.

The report comes a week after Dentsu reported a rebound in Japan's advertising economy, following similar COVID-19 setbacks, signaling renewed growth for the Asia-Pacific region, and two of the world's larges ad markets.

In an interview with MediaPost, Scott-Dawkins said the projection is consistent with what GroupM had been forecasting when it released its year-end forecast in December, but it's still unclear with it will signal any upward adjustment for either the region or worldwide, when GroupM issues its mid-year update in June.

In terms of an impact on the U.S. market, GroupM has been tracking ad spending by Chinese marketers reaching consumers overseas -- especially in the U.S. -- via digital ecommerce platforms, and she says that spending appeared be flat -- about $10 billion overall -- in 2022, although she says it likely will expand again this year, given increases in digital retail media capacity.