WPP Updates Ad Forecast

WPP Media is projecting a 6.1 percent growth in global ad revenues to $1.08 trillion this year, revising a previous 7.7 percent forecast “due to disruptions to global trade and continued deglobalization pressures weighing on advertising investment.”

For 2025 to 2030, WPP expects a compound annual growth rate of 5.4 percent, down from a 6.4 percent projection for 2024 to 2029.

WPP, in its mid-year global advertising forecast update to its This Year Next Year report, also issued two classifications for types of ad revenues around content, commerce, location and intelligence.

Digital continues to lead, accounting for a whopping 73.2 percent of global ad revenue this year. When factoring in streaming, digital out-of-home and digital print, this share rises to 81.6 percent.

In a worrying sign for the traditional media ecosystem, user-generated content is expected to overtake professional production when it comes to ad revenues. This year, more than half of content-driven advertising revenue will come from platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Kuaishou and InstagramReels. Revenues from creator-generated content will hit $184.9 billion this year, up 20 percent from 2024. WPP expects this to double to $376.6 billion by 2030.

TV, including streaming, will be up 1 percent this year to $162.5 billion. Streaming alone will contribute $41.8 billion, surging to $71.9 billion by 2030.

The U.S. remains the biggest market at 2025 revenues of $404.7 billion, a 5.6 percent gain. China will rise by almost 7 percent to $211.6 billion, and the U.K. will see a 6.5 percent gain to $55 billion. The other markets in the top ten—Japan, Germany, France, Brazil, Canada, India and Australia—will all see gains, with particularly strong showings in Brazil and India.