Three prominent global ad agencies (Magna, Zenith and GroupM) recently issued their final forecast for the ad marketplace in 2021 and a look at 2022. Forecast were provided for both the U.S. and global markets. In 2021 the ad marketplace was driven by digital media, specifically social, search and video which was more robust than anticipated midyear. While there are several factors to consider, strong ad spending growth is expected to continue in 2022. The U.S. ad market is forecast to exceed $300 billion and the global ad market over $700 billion.

U.S. Ad Spending: According to Magna Global, the U.S. ad market will rebound in 2021 with ad dollars growing year-over-year by an estimated 25%, totaling $284.3 billion.

Driving the growth in ad dollars will be digital “pure play” media which will grow by 35% in 2021 and total $162.4 billion, accounting for 57% of total ad dollars. Among digital segments, search will lead with $98.6 billion, (+39% from 2020) accounting for over one-third of all ad dollars invested in media in 2021. Magna reported social media will generate $58.8 billion in ad spend, increasing by 36% from 2020, one-fifth of all ad dollars spent in 2021 will be allocated to social media.

Read more: Agencies Agree; 2021 Was A Record Year For Ad Spending, With More Growth Expected In 2022 (forbes.com)