Advertising Revenue Reaches Record $208 Billion in U.S. in 2018

In its latest report on global advertising market trends, advertising research and strategies firm MAGNA revealed worldwide ad revenues experienced their strongest growth since 2010.

In the U.S. alone, ad revenue grew by 7.5 percent and reached an all-time high of $208 billion, including a record $4 billion spent on political ads in 2018. MAGNA also indicated global events like the Winter Olympics in South Korea and the FIFA World Cup in Russia also contributed to the surge.

Further, the report noted that digital ad sales in the U.S. grew by 16.6 percent this year to surpass $100 billion, while non-digital ad sales dipped 0.7 percent.

Beyond the U.S., worldwide ad revenues saw 7.2 percent growth to reach a total of $552 billion across the 70 countries MAGNA analyzed for its report. Digital advertising sales grew by 17 percent, accounting for $251 billion, or 45 percent, of global ad revenue. On the contrary, non-digital ad sales in the form of linear TV, linear radio, print, and out-of-home advertising were flat at $301 billion.

“Digital media was again the main winner but television proved resilient, thanks to the loyalty of consumer brands, strong pricing and incremental cyclical spend,” report author and MAGNA EVP of Global Market Intelligence Vincent Létang stated.

Read the full report here.