Singapore – A new report from MAGNA has indicated that global media owners’ ad revenues have reached US$933b in 2024, seeing up 10% in increase in line with mid-year expectations. For the media owners, the growth is driven by a combination of factors including cyclical events, digital innovation, and industry shifts.

Traditional media owners (TMO), encompassing television, radio, publishing, out-of-home, and cinema, saw a remarkable 4% increase in ad revenue, reaching US$274b. This marks the strongest performance in 14 years, excluding the post-COVID recovery of 2021. Key factors contributing to this growth include a record number of cyclical events like elections and major sporting events, as well as a 12% surge in non-linear ad sales, particularly ad-supported streaming, which now accounts for 25% of total TMO ad revenue.

Meanwhile, digital pure players (DPP), including search, retail, social, and short-form digital video, experienced even more substantial growth, with ad sales increasing by 13% to US$659b. This growth was fueled by strong performance in search/commerce ad formats, short-form video, and social media. Organic growth factors such as increased competition in e-commerce, the rise of retail media networks, advanced AI targeting, and improved monetization of short vertical videos further propelled DPP growth.

While the global ad market experienced a strong first half, growth slowed in the second half. However, the US market remained the largest, accounting for US$380b, followed by China at US$155b. Key dynamic markets in 2024 included France, the US, India, and the UK, while growth was more subdued in Japan, Canada, China, Germany, and Australia.

Industry-wise, CPG/FMCG, Government, Betting, and Finance were among the fastest-growing verticals, while Tech recovered and Travel slowed down. In 2025, MAGNA expects Auto, CPG, and Tech to be dynamic sectors.

Moreover, the ‘Big Three’ digital media owners, Google, Meta, and Amazon, continued to outperform the market, with ad revenue growth of 11%, 22%, and 21%, respectively. Their combined market share reached 51% of global ad revenue and 61% outside of China.

Looking ahead to 2025, the report forecasts the global ad market to grow by 6.1%, approaching the trillion-dollar mark.

Vincent Létang, EVP of global market research at MAGNA, said, “The strong growth of advertising spending in 2024, despite a challenging economic environment, was of course driven by an unusually high number of major cyclical events but, more fundamentally, media innovation is what attracts a growing share of marketing budgets into advertising formats.” 

He added, “Digital pure-play ad formats (search, retail search, social and short form video) are fueled by the rise of commerce media redirecting billions of dollars from trade marketing into digital formats. The growing reach of ad-supported CTV streaming makes cross-platform long-form video more attractive to advertisers as it now offers scale on top of addressability and brand safety. With no major cyclical drivers in 2025, MAGNA expects ad spend growth rates to slow, but the organic factors will remain at work, stabilizing TMO ad revenues, and growing DPP ad sales.”

Singapore – The APAC ad market will see growth by 8.5% this year to US$289b with traditional media owners (TMO) ad sales will grow by 0.8% to US$68b while digital pure players (DPP) ad revenues will expand by 11.1% to US$220b. This is according to the latest forecast from IPG Mediabrands’ resource arm MAGNA.

According to the report, television budgets are stabilising in 2024 and are expected to be up by 0.2% following 2023’s – 2.3% performance. This increase in growth is primarily driven by the tailwinds of sporting events – primarily the Paris Olympics. The UEFA Euro 2024 tournament and other sporting events typically have only a minor impact in APAC markets.

Meanwhile, digital advertising revenues are the driver of growth. Search remains the largest portion of digital advertising revenues and will represent US$103b in 2024. This is 47% of total digital advertising budgets. Search advertising in APAC is substantially driven by retail media platforms, especially in China where Alibaba, JD.com, Pinduoduo, and Meituan all drive search advertising revenues. Core search is also spiking around the world as traditional search platforms like Google and Baidu also see strong performance relative to recent results. 

In addition, social media advertising revenues also remain strong in 2024. While social media was already surging ahead in 2023 in APAC (+19% growth to reach US$65b), growth will again be robust in 2024 (+15% to reach US$74b). This means social media budgets will represent 34% of total digital advertising budgets. Both search and social media revenues are driven by mobile devices. Smartphones are not just the dominant way that most consumers access the internet; in many APAC markets they are the only way consumers access the internet. 

“Many consumers skipped the desktop hardware generation and conduct their digital lives solely on their smartphones. Furthermore, in China consumers don’t just do shopping and communication on smartphones, but also banking, insurance, and many work functions. Because of this, 76% of total digital advertising revenues in APAC are on mobile devices,” the report noted.

The digital strength driving APAC advertising revenues will translate to continued share gains for digital advertising revenues in APAC. Digital revenues will represent 81% of total budgets in 2028, up from 76% of total advertising revenues in 2024. In 2024, the strongest growth in APAC is expected to come from Sri Lanka (+12%), India (+11.8%), and Japan (+11.8%). This represents a significant jump in growth for Japan, following 2023’s +5.6% growth rate. Growth in many traditionally mature markets is rebounding in 2024. APAC as a region is still dominated by China, which represents approximately half of total ad revenues. When combined with Japan, Australia, India, and South Korea, those five large markets represent 87% of total APAC revenues. 

By 2028, the share of total revenues that are represented by linear advertising formats will have fallen to just 19%, representing about the same number of dollars (US$65b) as they do today (US$68b). Digital pure players, on the other hand, will represent 81% of total budgets and US$286b, significantly higher than their 2024 total (US$220b). The largest absolute increases in advertising revenues will come from search advertising (+US$28b) and social media (+US$27b) by 2028 compared to this year in 2024.

Leigh Terry, CEO at IPG Mediabrands APAC, said, “The advertising industry in APAC is poised for continued growth in 2024, with an 8.5% projected increase, reaching US$289b. This follows a 9.5% growth in 2023. Despite economic fluctuations, digital advertising remains the driving force, with search and social media leading the way. The digital dominance in APAC is expected to persist, with digital revenues forecast to account for 81% of total budgets by 2028, up from 76% in 2024.”

He added, “This shift underscores the growing importance of digital channels in reaching and engaging consumers in the region. Sri Lanka, India, and Japan are poised for significant growth in 2024, with mature markets in the region also showing signs of recovery, and contributing to the overall positive outlook for APAC.”

Meanwhile, Paul Waller, chief investment officer at MAGNA APAC, commented, “Despite economic uncertainties, the global and APAC advertising market continues to expand. With digital ad spend leading the charge and projected to reach unprecedented heights in the coming years. Now that inflation in commodity costs and consumer prices are under control, marketers are returning to previous levels of advertising budgets and taking advantage of the investment opportunities offered. With a heightened focus towards more targeted and data-driven marketing strategies.”

Singapore IPG Mediabrands, Interpublic Group’s media and marketing solutions group, announced the appointment of Paul Waller to the newly created job of chief investment officer MAGNA for APAC. Waller will report to Leigh Terry, CEO of IPG Mediabrands APAC, and will be based in Singapore. His appointment is effective immediately.

Waller in his new position of chief investment officer MAGNA APAC, he will be responsible for leading investment performance throughout the IPG Mediabrands group’s agencies in the Asia Pacific area. MAGNA, the network’s global media investment and intelligence firm, will help to aid this endeavour. 

Waller has joined the IPG Mediabrands group, bringing with him trade and investing experience from positions held at GroupM and Omnicom in Singapore, China, Australia, and the UK. He comes to this post after serving as EssenceMediacom APAC’s chief media solutions & investment officer, where he was in charge of overseeing the department throughout 16 markets in the area. 

Speaking about the appointment, Leigh Terry, CEO of Mediabrands APAC, said, “We are very excited to welcome Paul to the IPG Mediabrands network. His track record of executional excellence and delivery, perfectly position him to help drive exponential growth for our client base through optimised trading efficiencies and services.” 

Meanwhile, Waller commented, “I’m thrilled to be joining the team at IPG Mediabrands and collaborating across such a diverse and future focused portfolio of advertisers. As leaders in data management, I believe that MAGNA are perfectly positioned to harness the technology-driven evolution of media and consumer behaviour. I look forward to building on the network’s impressive work in the responsible media communication and sustainability space.” 

Singapore – IPG Mediabrands’ intel arm MAGNA has released its APAC ad market forecast for the period of June 2023. One of the main findings indicates that digital growth is primarily being driven by mobile advertising campaigns in the region comprising nearly 84% of total digital budgets. 

Overall in APAC, digital advertising is powering total market growth. According to the report, digital advertising revenues are seen to increase by +10% and will increase by another +8% in 2024 to represent 76% of total advertiser budgets at the said period. 

In terms of format, this year’s growth comes from social (+12%) and video (+11%), with search also increasing by +9%, but is said to already represent a huge 47% of total digital budgets. 

In 2024, mobile advertising spending will increase further (+10% to reach 86% of total digital budgets), with social and video leading growth, both to increase by +9%. Search is also forecasted to grow by +7% in 2024.

“Smartphones are not just the dominant way that most consumers access the internet; in many APAC [markets,] they are the only way most consumers access the internet. Because GDP per capita has only increased lately, many consumers skipped the desktop hardware generation and conduct their digital lives solely on their smartphones,” said the MAGNA report. 

Furthermore, in China, smartphones are more integrated into consumer lives than they are in almost every other market. Consumers regularly conduct not just their shopping and communications, but also their banking, insurance, and many work functions on their smartphones. By 2027, mobile advertising spending in APAC will represent 88% of total digital budgets, said MAGNA.

The forecast indicates search/commerce to remain the largest ad format, approaching the $300bn milestone (+9.1% to $296b). 

Within Search/Commerce, Commerce/Retail players will grow ad sales by 12% this year (to $121b ) i.e., faster than traditional Search Engine companies like Google or Baidu. Within Commerce/Retail players, e-commerce specialists like Amazon or Alibaba are by far the most developed (83% of the segment) but traditional retail chains like Walmart or Carrefour are leveraging first-party consumer data to attract CPG brands into spending on their retail media networks or third-party media partners. 

Meanwhile, traditional retailers are seen to grow Search-like ad revenues by +24% this year to $21b. 

Furthermore, the report finds social media formats to re-accelerate by +9.4% this year to $172b.

The industry seems to have turned a corner in 1Q23 when Meta reported a return to YOY growth on an FX-adjusted basis after two consecutive quarters of flat or negative growth. Meta and other established social media vendors seem to have finally recovered from the loss of workable consumer data in the Apple ecosystem since late 2021, and they are making inroads in the monetization of the short vertical videos that have completely changed the user experience, challenging ad optimization, in less than two years. 

Finally, pure-play short-form digital video (instream platforms like YouTube or Twitch, plus outstream networks) will grow ad sales by +8.6% to $71b this year.

Gurpreet Singh, managing director of MAGNA APAC, commented, “After experiencing a slowdown in 2020 due to covid, bouncing back with double digit growth in 2021, ad spends growth rates in most Asia [Pacific] markets are now getting back to the levels/trends we saw pre-covid. After 2020, the gap between digital & linear media spends has widened at a much higher pace than predicted.” 

“Current growth across most APAC markets continues to be largely driven by digital which is getting the dominant share of spend in the majority of markets, taking it away from linear media which shows a decline in most markets. In the next 5 years, digital spends are expected to further consolidate and increase dominance,” concluded Singh. 

Singapore – IPG Mediabrands and its intelligence arm MAGNA have unveiled the 4th issue of its signature Media Responsibility Index (MRI 4.0), an initiative that strives to raise industry awareness and standards around harm reduction for brands and consumers in advertising.

The media agency has beefed up its MRI 4.0 with a number of enhancements, starting from the increase in the number of its subjects from 10 social platforms to now more than 150 partners from a variety of media formats across 15 countries. Through this, the media agency said it has transformed the index to now become an actionable toolset.

Further to the changes, the new MRI 4.0 has established four new ESG-aligned priorities for partner accountability.

“We developed our first media responsibility index in 2020 to determine exact protocols of the major platforms, as people started questioning the impact of social media in their lives, from the prevalence of misinformation to hate speech and data-collection practices,” said Elijah Harris, EVP of Global Digital Partnerships & Media Responsibility at MAGNA.

The original MRI, which is a first-of-its kind, was launched in August 2020, in response to concerns about social media platforms not taking steps to acknowledge, measure and reduce their contribution to online and real-world harms.

The newly improved index further allows for teams and clients to incorporate brand and consumer safety priorities into their investment decision-making for a variety of media types, from the largest global social platforms to local broadcast media outlets.

MRI 4.0 has assessed each outlet across four priorities of partner accountability—Safety, Inclusivity, Sustainability and Data Ethics—in alignment with industry-adopted ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) frameworks so businesses can easily extend how they are measuring their impact in these spaces to include media. Previous versions of the MRI had ranked the platforms upon Mediabrands’ 10 Media Responsibility Principles, which are now consolidated within the four priorities.

The 150+ major partners that were surveyed expand into the realms of Broadcast & Cable, Connected TV, Online Video, and Display. Across Broadcast & Cable, the traditional-first networks also span several subsidiary companies across Connected TV and Online Video properties. The findings illuminated that strict, longstanding federal regulations within Broadcast & Cable have had a trickle-down effect on their digital properties, in effect enhancing safety standards when compared to digital-first counterparts surveyed.

Harris added, “We have always believed in the need to bring the lens of media responsibility to a broader set of media types. Consumers digest content and opinions from an ever-increasing list of mediums. It only made sense that this [rigour] we’ve developed for social platforms would be translated for a more diversified mix of media partners. With each iteration, the MRI is becoming more robust and establishing itself as a mainstay in driving industry accountability and powering responsible advertising investment.”

Some of the notable findings of the latest index include how social media platforms showed continued improvement across the four priorities (averaging +3-point in overall performance). It had also been found that Safety is a standout priority for broadcast & cable, based in part on federal industry regulations forcing uniformity and 3rd party enforcement in safety standards – including children’s safety rules and advertising approvals.

Tech-proficient digital-first CTV partners are also now driving higher Data Ethics performance than their traditional-first counterparts, in part due to their origins and operating in a more tech-oriented space, versus a TV-first space.

The index also found that in a mixed marketplace for Sustainability practices, online video platforms showed strength in their ad-business emissions measurement and in setting net-zero goals.

Sydney, Australia – IPG Mediabrands’ media intelligence and investment division MAGNA has appointed Lucy Formosa Morgan as its new managing director in Australia. The appointment took effect on 26 June, replacing previous managing director Nick Durrant.

Morgan brings more than 20 years’ international and local experience to Magna, previously holding senior management roles both agency and publisher-side, in Australia and the UK. 

Most recently, she was with NOVA Entertainment as commercial operations director. Prior to that, she was with PHD for more than decade where she joined as national managing director and chief investment officer, while also leading several of PHD’s specialist business units, driving growth year-on-year.

Speaking on her appointment, Morgan said, “MAGNA has clear opportunities to continue to evolve its investment product, taking full advantage of the ongoing dramatic shifts in consumer behaviour that we have seen over the past 2 years. I am delighted to join such a highly experienced and passionate team. Together we will continue to challenge how we execute our media with particular emphasis on digital, data and tech capabilities in the market so we can harness our creative thinking to accelerate returns for our clients.”

A passionate advocate for climate change and leading the charge for gender diversity across the Australian media industry, Morgan also mentors a number of senior women executives and is focused on increasing women in executive management roles.

Meanwhile, Mark Coad, CEO at Mediabrands Australia said he was delighted Lucy will be leading Magna’s Australian team as she is an inspiring leader with a track record of creating brilliant work that drives client success; and he was really looking forward to seeing her make an impact in the business.

“Lucy is a well experienced and highly capable executive. We have worked together in several roles over the years – so I know exactly what she will bring and the difference she will make. She is extremely highly regarded across the industry and by our media partners, and will bring all of that to bear as she takes on the leadership of Magna. She will also make a valued contribution to the overall Mediabrands business as she takes a place on our executive leadership team,” Coad said.

He added, “This role is not just about how we lead our Group’s negotiations and investment – but how we work with our media partners to execute the digital, data and tech capabilities in market…how we splice together our ability to build audiences with our media partners ability to deliver them and connect them to the brands we represent.”

New Zealand – New Zealand’s advertising economy will be increasing by 8% in 2022 to reach NZ$3.5b, according to data from Mediabrands’ MAGNA

The report found that the country’s economy will be growing by more than 2.7% on a real basis in 2022, levelling out from the rebound in 2021 with more than 5.6%. In this environment, linear advertising revenues are increasing by over 2%. The linear advertising spending this year is at 90% of its pre-COVID total.

Meanwhile, television revenues are increasing by over 2% and are expected to continue their decline at -3-5% from 2023 to 2026, while print is shrinking by -1%, however, out-of-home spending will grow over 13%, reaching about ~90% of its pre-COVID total. With this, MAGNA predicts home to surpass pre-COVID measures by 2023. 

The report also revealed that TV pricing continues to increase as demand is significantly outstripping supply. Some price-sensitive brands have started to shift away from linear TV, but not yet to a significant degree.

For digital advertising, the data shows that revenues are growing by 13% to reach NZ$2.2b, while campaigns on mobile devices are leading ad spending, which will grow by more than 17% and represents 70% of total digital budgets. By format, growth is being led by video with over 15%, search with over 15%, and social with over14%. Looking forward, digital will continue to take share compared to linear advertising formats, and by 2026 digital budgets will represent 70% of total advertising budgets.

Sri Lanka – Despite the turmoil brought by the new COVID-19 Omicron variant as well as the economic issues the country is facing, Sri Lanka’s advertising scene is set to grow by 16% by 2023, which will be dominated by digital formats. This is according to the latest data from Mediabrands’ MAGNA.

According to the insights, Sri Lanka’s advertising market grew by over 10% in 2021. However, it is feared that this growth forecast might change in the near future amidst economic instability in the country, as well as facing a consumer price inflation crisis.

In other mediums, linear formats will also see some growth this year, though on a smaller scale. Meanwhile, television (+3%) and radio (+5%), and OOH (+13%) will see the strongest growth while print will decline slightly (-5%). 

“2023 will bring continued recovery for most linear ad formats, with the exception of print, but over the long term, we anticipate digital will continue to gain market share at the expense of linear media channels,” the report said in a statement.

As evident across APAC, digital is the backbone of growth, with all digital formats expected to see another year of double-digit growth: video by over 52%, social by over 25%, search by over 21%, and display by over 18%. In total, digital advertising revenues will reach US$131m, or a 37% market share regionally.

Vietnam – In Vietnam, linear advertising still accounts for 62% of the country’s advertising budgets, according to data from Mediabrands’ MAGNA.

According to the report, this year’s advertising revenues in Vietnam are increasing by 5% higher than anticipated due to the pre-COVID situation, which has caused pullbacks in advertising activity since 2021.

Meanwhile, TV advertising revenues are still a huge portion of overall ad budgets in Vietnam. Even though television ad spending is decreasing by -4% it still represents 58% of the total budget.

In other mediums, print ad sales continued to decline this year by -3%, and will continue by -4% in 2023, representing just 5% of total advertiser budgets. Furthermore, spending on print will represent just 70% of the pre-COVID total in 2019 by the end of this year 2022.

Lastly, as the economy recovers from the COVID outbreak in 2021, out-of-home (OOH) expenditure is expected to increase by 20% this year.

For digital advertising, the revenue is increasing by +22% and represents 38% of total advertiser budgets. Digital spending is led by social media advertising, which will increase by +36% and represent 48% of total digital advertising budgets. By format, mobile +30%, video +15%, and search +13% are leading growth.

According to the estimate, Vietnam’s advertising revenue will bring the market to VND 32.8 trillion ($1.5 billion). On a real GDP basis, Vietnam’s economy is expected to grow by 6.0%. Worldwide, media owners’ ad income will rise by over 9.2% this year, reaching around US$828 billion, or approximately 32% above the pre-COVID level of 2019. In addition, advertising revenues in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to rise by more than 7% to US$273 billion, or 35% higher than they were before COVID, thanks to an increase of over 12% in digital advertising.

Bangkok, Thailand – Linear advertising remains the majority of advertising spending in Thailand, accounting for 72% of total advertising budgets for the local market, according to data from Mediabrands’ MAGNA.

According to the report, linear advertising revenues in Thailand are growing by over 3% and represent just 81% of their pre-COVID level, attributed to the delayed recovery from the COVID crisis. This, in turn, creates a significant drag on total market growth going forward.

Meanwhile, television ad spend is stagnant and represents only 53% of total advertising spending. Television spending is still short of the pre-COVID total. Because spending will continue to erode, TV will never reach its all time high. 

In other mediums, print spending is still declining, and is falling by 17% this year and represents just 3% of budgets. There are only a few core spending industries that still deploy budgets on print: real estate, finance, autos, and consumer packaged goods (CPG). 

Lastly, out-of-home (OOH) spending is seeing a strong rebound of 20% this year as the economy recovers from the COVID outbreak in 2021.

Digital advertising spending will grow by over 13% in 2022 and represents 28% of total budgets. Growth is led by mobile device spending, which will increase by over 15% and represents 78% of total digital spending. By format, growth is led by social at over 15%, search at over 14%), and video at over 13%.

It is also noted that media owners advertising revenues are increasing by over 5% in Thailand in 2022 to reach THB124.3b (around US$3.9b). At a global level, media owners’ advertising revenues will grow by over 9.2% this year to nearly US$828b or about 32% above the pre-COVID level of 2019. Meanwhile, APAC advertising revenues will increase by over 7% to US$273b, which is 35% above the pre-COVID spending level, driven by digital advertising growth by over 12%.