Marketing & Advertising Industry Report

The global marketing & advertising market is a multi-billion-dollar industry that continues to grow across several areas.

Despite the proliferation of digital advertising, television remains the largest marketing & advertising segment because of its wide reach, ability to engage audiences, and power to convey brand messages in relatively succinct time slots, often in highly targeted situations. For example, ad spending for TV commercials during the NFL’s big game has surged to record levels in terms of millions of dollars—a trend that is only expected to continue.

Radio advertising is still a powerful medium for reaching broad audiences, especially during daily commutes. Despite heavy competition from digital audio platforms, traditional over-the-air radio advertising remains relevant for its local targeting and engagement with a diverse consumer base.

The out-of-home advertising market is experiencing strong growth, driven by economic growth in emerging markets, the adoption of programmatic digital display advertising, increasing government spending on out-of-home advertising, the rise of digital out-of-home advertising, the rise of globalization, increases in transit advertising, and rapid technological development.

The online/digital advertising space is more valuable than ever, accounting for the majority of global ad spending amid ongoing digitalization. The native advertising segment is growing in the online ad sector, with a global market share of around 20-25% (source: Futuremarketinsights.com). Native ads are an effective and popular advertising strategy that seamlessly integrates promotional content into the surrounding content, making them seem to be a natural part of the platform, offering a less intrusive and more cohesive user experience that translates to more engagement.

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More than 80% of the world’s digital marketers are actively investing in content marketing. 40% of B2B marketers have a documented content marketing strategy, and 69% are actively investing time in search engine optimization (SEO). (source: Hubspot). It is becoming increasingly important for companies to have solid content marketing strategies to succeed. Content marketing helps generate leads, educate audiences, and build customer loyalty.

The full-screen interstitials segment is seeing rapid growth, as these ads offer immersive, attention-grabbing experiences by taking up the entire screen, creating an impactful advertising effect.

The mobile/smartphone segment is expected to continue to dominate the market, with a share of more than 60%, a figure that is growing rapidly with a surging CAGR (source: eMarketer). This growth is largely due to the rising adoption of smartphones worldwide, creating a huge opportunity for advertisers to reach more audiences via mobile ads. The retail & consumer goods segment dominates the overall market, demonstrating significant and sustained growth in recent years.

While print advertising is on the decline due to the rise of digital platforms, it still offers value to niche markets and specific demographics seeking curated content and a more tangible reading experience.

Market Drivers and Trends

The increasing penetration of the Internet and mobile devices is driving the marketing & advertising market, as more consumers use smartphones and other mobile devices and businesses allocate more of their marketing budgets to digital channels. The surging popularity of social media platforms is also driving growth in the sector, as many platforms have become a regular part of consumers' daily lives. This means more opportunities for advertisers to engage their target audiences through interactive, personalized ads that enhance awareness and shore up brand loyalty.

The increasing adoption of video advertising is also driving growth within the online advertising space. Video ads have become hugely popular because of their engaging format and capability to communicate more complex messages. Companies can capture their audiences' attention more effectively on video-sharing platforms such as YouTube. There is also increasing consumption of video content on social media platforms.

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Technological innovations in data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) are also key factors in the market. Companies can create highly targeted ads by analyzing large amounts of data and gaining actionable insights. AI is helping to improve ad placements, audience segmentation, and the overall effectiveness of marketing strategies. This is increasing the demand for online advertising solutions.

Online advertising is widely used across many industries. Market growth is being propelled particularly by the retail, automotive, travel & tourism, financial services, and healthcare sectors. Digital advertising is an effective vehicle for boosting e-commerce sales, promoting new products, highlighting destinations, offering market services, and providing product discounts. The auto industry uses digital ads to spotlight new car models and features, while the travel & tourism sector uses online ads to showcase destinations and travel packages. The financial services sector uses digital ads to showcase a range of products and services, such as credit cards and insurance policies.

E-mail marketing is also a key segment of the digital marketing industry, helping build awareness, increase sales, and maintain customer relationships to foster brand loyalty. This segment is expected to continue to grow rapidly.

Data-driven marketing strategies are also a key trend driving growth in the digital marketing sector. Companies are using data analytics more than ever to get insight into consumer behaviors and preferences. This enables them to create personalized campaigns designed to increase customer engagement and conversion rates. Additionally, data-driven marketing is also boosting demand for marketing automation tools and platforms that help companies optimize their digital marketing efforts.

The surging growth of e-commerce and online shopping worldwide has largely driven the expansion of the digital marketing industry. E-commerce companies rely on digital marketing strategies to entice customers, heighten brand visibility, and increase sales. The e-commerce arena has also become highly competitive, further underscoring the need for effective digital marketing solutions that help companies gain a leg up on the competition. In addition, the popularity of social media worldwide is driving the digital marketing sector. This includes the ongoing trend surrounding influencer marketing and original video content posted on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube. Advertising spending on streaming services is also on the rise.

Major trends in the out-of-home advertising space include investing in digital platforms to enhance viewer experiences, deploying artificial intelligence in ads, offering mobile-integrated advertising to increase customer interaction, and exploring media through digital transformation.

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Programmatic advertising is also a growing market, with real-time bidding technology that enables advertisers to bid for impressions in milliseconds, and the growing use of data-driven strategies that optimize ad spending and boost customer engagement.

Additionally, companies are developing innovative products to target younger generations, expand their customer base, and gain a competitive edge. For example, the Gen Z Music lineup uses AI to find trending music, helping advertisers connect with the young demographic by featuring their ads alongside content that plays the songs.

M&A

There is plenty of opportunity for consolidation in the marketing and advertising sector. Ad tech vendors are expected to pursue consolidation strategies to become more profitable amid slim profit margins.

Data businesses are also expected to seek out consolidation solutions, such as analytics-led agencies merging with engineering firms that offer strong products and fresh ideas. Dealmakers are eagerly seeking potential targets or trying to close deals on those they have already identified to beat out the competition.

Additionally, private equity investors are sitting on an abundance of funds that they have to deploy sooner rather than later. The whole “wait and see” vibe is dwindling, and players are getting a bit tired of worrying about uncertainties. Restlessness often translates into taking action.

Holding companies are always looking to add new offerings to their product lines, and smaller-scale acquisitions focus on add-ons, key talent, and organic development. As more companies warm to new possibilities, more M&A deals of all sizes are expected. Another area ripe for M&A activity is influencer agencies focused on marketing tech and data for influencer/creator businesses.

Our Recent Success Stories in the Sector

Some of Benchmark International’s recent successful deals in the marketing and advertising space include:

• The transaction between Golden Openings Inc. and Front Row Sales and Marketing
• The deal between Lookthinkmake, LLC and Post House Creative
• The sale of Integrity Arts & Technology, Inc. to Swagger Agency
• The acquisition of Master Printing Group by JAL Equity

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