‘A New Normal:’ What Advertisers Should Know As Media Inflation Rate Stabilizes

The World Federation of Advertisers recently compared global media forecasts from last year to current forecasts, finding a somewhat stabilized +4% inflation rate that settles media “into a new normal of moderate but persistent inflation, mirroring the wider economy.”

“The headline rate also hides a number of starker contrasts between regions and channels,” WFA says, “highlighting opportunities for advertisers to identify smarter ways to invest their ad budgets.”

(Source: WFA Outlook via MediaPost)

According to MediaPost’s reporting on the WFA Members-only report, U.S. advertisers have seen a half-point rise to a 3.8% inflation rate this year, with that number expected to reach 4.0% next year.

“Digital channels are no longer the deflationary force they once were,” WFA says. “Paid search, social video, and retail media are all inflating in line with the global average (~+4–5%), showing that any further pivots to digital channels may not deliver inflation relief.”

In a separate update to its U.S. Ad Market Tracker, Guideline also calculated a 3.7% growth in September.

“Combined with upwardly revised estimates for August ad-market gains,” writes MediaPost’s Joe Mandese of these findings, “the U.S. ad market has turned in two consecutive months of gains, despite tough comps with Olympics and elections spending a year earlier.”