Dentsu’s latest Global Ad Spend Forecasts reveal a projected 6.8 percent growth in global advertising spend for 2024, reaching $772.4 billion. This growth projection has been revised upward following the return to double-digit growth (+10.7 percent) of digital ad spend, the impact of sporting and political events, and improved outlooks across the US, UK, Brazil and France.

The Americas are expected to lead in 2025 with 6.3 percent growth, driven by robust US and Brazilian markets where digital and streaming see sustained investments.

The Asia-Pacific is forecasted to increase by 5.8 percent, with AI-driven ad placements contributing to the increase in digital ad spend in markets like India.

The EMEA is projected to grow at 5percent, with strong digital performance in key markets. The UK adspend is expected to grow by 7.5 percent in 2024 and 5.7 percent in 2025 to reach $51.7 billion, thanks to strong growth from digital media.

As the industry enters what dentsu identifies as the algorithmic era, data-enabled advertising will increasingly shape media strategies, with algorithmically-enabled ad spend forecasted to reach 79.0 percent of total ad spend by 2027.

Jenny Bullis, Media Practice CEO UK&I at dentsu, said in a statement on December 3, “Our latest Ad Spend forecasts show that investment in advertising remains a priority for UK businesses to drive growth.  Digital spend continues to outpace other channels, as brands take advantage of the depth and pace of connection it powers with their customers.  As competition for consumer engagement grows, harnessing the algorithms that serve our media is key to delivering business value from this investment.”

From a media channel standpoint, the Dentsu report highlights that digital is expected to remain the fastest-growing channel, with a projected increase of 9.2 percent in 2025 (8.8 percent three-year CAGR to 2027) to reach $513.0 billion and capture 62.7 percent of global ad spend.

Significant growth is anticipated across key digital segments, with retail media leading the way at +21.9 percent year-over-year (19.7 percent three-year CAGR to 2027) as advertisers capitalize on the high value of retailer consumer data and increasingly invest in offsite advertising, including connected TV.

Paid social is forecast to grow by 8.7 percent in 2025 (7.8 percent three-year CAGR to 2027), supported by an integrated ecosystem that blends shopping, video, search, and gaming capabilities. This channel remains critical for engaging younger audiences, with 79.7 percent of Gen Z using Instagram monthly and 42 percent of CMOs planning to boost influencer marketing investments. Paid search is expected to increase by 6.7 percent (6.5 percent three-year CAGR 2027), driven by continuous advancements in AI-powered features that sustain relevance amid the rise of social and retail search.

Online video advertising is projected to rise by 8.0 percent as advertisers continue to seek out high attention and trusted environments.

Programmatic advertising is set to grow by 11.1 percent and will account for more than 70 percent of digital ad spend, with sustained momentum (10.9 percent three-year CAGR to 2027).

Television ad spend growth is forecast to show marginal growth of 0.6 percent in 2025, with connected television rapidly increasing (+18.4 percent) thanks to ad-supported streaming, and broadcast television declining (-2.5 percent). Meanwhile, print media continues to contract, while cinema and out-of-home (OOH) advertising continue to grow by 3.2 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively.

Significant ad spend increases are anticipated in finance (+6.4 percent), pharmaceutical (+5.8 percent) and travel and transport (+5.5 percent) as these sectors adapt to meet evolving consumer needs.