The global advertising market will grow by a less than expected 3.5 percent this year, French ad giant Publicis said on Tuesday, marking down last December's forecast of 4.1 percent growth for the second time. ZenithOptimedia, the media buying unit of Publicis, blamed the downgrade on the lingering eurozone debt crisis and heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula.
ZenithOptimedia now says the advertising market in the eurozone will plummet by 3.9 percent in 2013 instead of the earlier forecast of 1.6 percent contraction. In 2012, advertising spending in the eurozone fell by 5.2 percent from a year earlier. Sabre-rattling from North Korea has rattled consumers and advertisers in South Korea, the agency said. It now expects the market, one of the world's biggest, to slump 6.5 percent this year.
Publicis is however optimistic for 2014 and 2015. The growth forecasts for those years were modestly raised to 5.1 percent and 5.8 percent respectively. ZenithOptimedia noted that advertising on hand held devices was "by far" the fastest growing segment with a 67 percent leap in spending expected in 2013 on the back of the tablet and smartphone explosion.