On the surface, the global ad industry appears to be in rude health. GroupM upwardly revised its This Year Next Year global ad revenue forecast for 2024 and expects it to surpass $1tn for the first time – and that’s excluding US political advertising, which itself totalled $15.1bn.

In the UK, despite uncertainty regarding the country's political and economic future, the ad market grew 8.3%, with further 7% growth now expected for 2025.

But, of course, there are numerous unpredictabilities next year, such as around how a new Donald Trump administration could impact global trade or pursue Big Tech regulation. Meanwhile, most ad growth is being driven by just five companies: Google, Meta, Amazon, ByteDance and Alibaba — suggesting a consolidation of ad revenue into fewer, bigger hands.

Kate Scott-Dawkins is GroupM's global president of business intelligence and author of the This Year Next Year report.

In conversation with Jack Benjamin, Scott-Dawkins explained that advertisers have grown accustomed to managing uncertainty over the past five years and that growth drivers such as retail media and streaming TV, as well as an influx of new AI-based startups, are likely to provide a boost to future ad spending.

"The uncertainty that advertisers are dealing with has existed and will continue to exist into next year," she said. "The advertising economy is going to continue despite that."

Scott-Dawkins will be presenting further details from This Year Next Year at The Media Leader's Future of TV Advertising Global conference in London next week.

Highlights:

2:24: Toplines: positive growth despite uncertainty

8:13: Big Tech's domination of ad revenue growth – is it healthy?

12:26: Why the UK is outperforming expectations

16:43: Volatility in the Chinese market

20:26: Opportunities and knock-on effects as sport becomes more important for TV

23:36: The importance of supporting publishing as it loses market share

27:02: Tech brands to watch as they spend on marketing to promote AI

Related articles:

Global ad industry to grow 9.5% this year as revenue flows to tech giants

OOH tops £1bn in ad revenue in 2024 so far

UK TV exports fall 2% despite strong US demand

Explained: how we should treat GroupM, IPG and Zenith adspend forecasts

---

Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.

--> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audience

Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media.

LinkedIn: The Media Leader

YouTube: The Media Leader

2024 is winding down and for their last weekly news podcast of the year, host Jack Benjamin and editor-in-chief Omar Oakes sat down to look back on the past year in media and advertising.

It was a year in which digital giants continued to grow, retail media surged, OOH prospered and TV streaming services became largely profitable. It was also a year that saw Big Tech facing renewed antitrust efforts, changes to Google and Meta's algorithms punishing online publishers and the industry reckoning with what a new AI-led era could look like.

The pair not only consider what 2024 meant for the wider media ecosystem, but also look ahead to the uncertainties to come in 2025.

Highlights:

2:56: What was the big trend in 2024? A year of two halves and political uncertainty

11:26: Tech regulation and profitable streaming services

19:06: Traditional media: OOH sees success; journalism and publishing challenged by headwinds

35:22: AI uses are broadening and changing working practice

43:41: The past week in news: Sky upfronts, Barb and Origin, Ofcom's BBC report and Guardian/Observer strikes

Related articles:

Sky failed our high standards, ads chief tells industry at upfronts

Ipsos eyes UK TV measurement space as it plots Kantar Media acquisition

Plan tabled for Barb to join Origin in hybrid reporting model

OOH tops £1bn in ad revenue in 2024 so far

Publishers say Google’s AI Overviews have reduced traffic potential

---

Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media.

LinkedIn: The Media Leader

YouTube: The Media Leader

Serial agency founder and digital media pioneer Pete Robins talks to editor-in-chief Omar Oakes about why he believes there's never been a better time to plan media.

Robins is set to launch his fifth media agency, Project5 – named after his belief that the industry has entered "the fifth age of media".

Four-fifths of all media is delivered by a form of technology shaped by some sort of data, Robins explains. While the principal goals of media have not changed, the possibilities to plan media have now transformed significantly.

Related articles:

Digital pioneer Pete Robins launches fifth media agency

---

Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode.

--> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audience