After a stronger than expected first six months, Core has upwardly revised its advertising expenditure forecast for 2024 to 6.94 per cent. The company had originally estimated the market would grow by around 4.1 per cent to €1.47 billion. The prediction now is that adspend may reach €1.57bn – a jump of 6.9 per cent. The key drivers for the growth include stronger performances across digital (online video and TikTok), out of home (OOH) and TV.
In its revised Outlook 2024 report, Core says these channels have performed better than expected due to significant increased investment from categories such as FMCG, utilities/telcos and retail. “This positive trend mirrors global patterns, particularly in the UK where ad spend has also experienced robust growth driven largely by digital investment and increased investment,” Christina Duff (above), managing director, Core Investment, said.
Core forecasts that video advertising will increase by 4.6 per cent this year to €291.13m. TikTok’s possible move into long-form video could disrupt video investment, Duff added. Digital spend is forecast to grow by 9.7 per cent. Elsewhere audio advertising spend is forecast to grow by 3.39 per cent to €176.35m. Audio investment is due to increase by 2.7 per cent.
Active
Digital audio will be up by ten points across all streaming platforms. Duff said that streaming platforms and podcasting will grow strongly. On the back of an active first half of the year for live sports, including the Olympic Games, the time spent watching TV is up by one point in the year to the end of July 2024. Commercial impacts are up eight per cent which has helped ease some of the hyperinflation the market has witnessed in recent years.
For younger audiences, viewership is up by almost a quarter over the summer months. Duff said that with growth in OOH advertising continuing to increase, the sector can finally confirm that it has recovered post pandemic and is seeing significant growth across all formats and sectors including retail, media and food, rising by 16 per cent to almost €94m. When it comes to news media, Core predicts that print will again be the hardest hit.
Elsewhere a forecast hike of 17.8 per cent in cinema spend this year to €5.4m masks a difficult start to the year for the industry when overall admissions year to date are down by eight per cent. Core is more optimistic that the final quarter of the year will reverse this trend with Joker 2, Gladiator 2 and new family movies due for release in the coming months.
