Global ad spend exceeds $550bn in 2012

In 2012 global ad spend increased 3.2% year-on-year to reach $557bn, according to Nielsen’s quarterly Global AdView Pulse report.

The annual uptick owed largely to a strong third quarter which saw growth of 4.3%. In the fourth quarter, however, ad spend growth returned to a modest 2.5%.

All regions saw an increase in ad spend last year, with the exception of Europe - the only region to suffer a fall in ad spend (-4.2%) versus 2011. In the fourth quarter of 2012, ad spend in Europe decreased 5.3%.

Even Germany, one of the top five global ad markets, experienced a decline of 1% in Q4, and the UK posted a 1.6% decline for the full-year, despite a 0.8% increase in the fourth quarter.

Ad spend in North America continued on an upward curve reporting 4.6% growth in 2012, fuelled by a 3.1% increase in the fourth quarter. Latin America posted growth of 6.7% for the full year.

The Middle East and Africa showed impressive growth of 14.6% for the year as the region’s economy stabilised. Egypt played a significant part in this, posting a 20.4% increase in spending.

In Asia-Pacific, ad spend growth saw a sharp decline in 2012 with the region posting growth of 2.8%, compared with 11.5% in 2011. This was propelled, in part, by China’s very slight gain of 1.9% for the year.