The global ad market looks in reasonably rude health, driven on the back of investment into social media, a report by UK market research firm Technavio has found.

The study titled Global Advertising Market 2016-2020 found that the global ad market will grow by six per cent to 2020.

The report noted: “Social media advertising is on the rise, making it mandatory for major vendors to have a significant online presence. Engaging the customers and measuring the performance of an ad is easy on social media.”

Television

It was good news for TV spends, too. The report found that the global TV advertising market is expected to reach $US281 billion by 2020 and would grow by four per cent to 2020. TV advertising would remain the largest segment of the global ad spending market. TV is “the most viewed, influential, and favoured advertising media in the world,” the report noted.  “TV advertising reaches mass audiences, and thus will continue to be the dominant advertising segment, despite the growing popularity of digital platforms.”

Digital

In the digital space, the report predicted that the sector would grow a staggering 11 per cent to 2020. It would be worth $US280 billion in that time, almost the exact same that will be spent on TV.

Technavio’s lead analyst,Ujjwal Doshi, said: “Digital advertising campaigns also help to acquire new clients and customers. Posts and updates from companies on social media provide them with business insights and the latest news on product launches. Digital platforms like social media are, thus, rapidly becoming important venues for effectively engaging with the target audience.”

Print

And if print was looking for any good news the report didn’t offer much. As of 2015, print represented 21 per cent of all ad spends and would struggle to grow at one per cent by 2020. “Advertising in newspapers and magazines require large investment of time, personnel, and money. The cost of a print ad can be significantly reduced if the same content is used in multiple advertising mediums,” the report noted.

Out of home

According to the report, OOH advertising is expected to exceed $US 48 billion by 2020 and grow at four per cent. OOH’s success was due to its transformation to digital platforms. “In the last 10 years, the medium has become more flexible with technological advances such as increasing adoption of digital outdoor advertising with the ability to interact and engage with customers,” the report noted.