Global ad market is on course for 4.6% growth this year, up from 3.9% growth last year, according to ZenithOptimedia’s new Advertising Expenditure Forecasts, published today. Global advertising expenditure will total US$579bn in 2016, and will exceed US$600bn in 2017, reaching US$603bn by the end of the year.

The global economy faces clear challenges – such as the ongoing slowdown in China, and recession in Brazil and Russia; the humanitarian disaster originating in Syria; and uncertainty over the future of the European Union, notably continuing fragility in Greece and the possible departure of the UK. But advertisers’ confidence has remained largely unshaken, and our forecasts for global growth in 2016 have barely changed since we published our last forecasts in December (when we forecast 4.7% growth this year). There are three main reasons why we are optimistic about the prospects for global adspend growth: special events this year, rapid recovery from the markets most affected by the eurozone crisis, and the emergence of rapidly growing markets that are now opening up to international advertising.

Quadrennial to lift ad growth by US$6.1bn

In the short term, 2016 is a quadrennial year, when ad expenditure is boosted by the US presidential elections, the Summer Olympics and the UEFA football championship in Europe. We expect these events to add a net US$6.1bn to the global ad market in 2016 (US$3.2bn from the elections, US$2.0bn from the Olympics and US$0.9bn from the football). The quadrennial will therefore add 1.1 percentage points to this year’s growth rate for global advertising expenditure, which would otherwise be 3.5%.

Crisis-hit European markets now enjoying rapid recovery

In the medium term, most of the European ad markets that suffered the deepest cuts from the financial crisis and its aftermath are now enjoying sustained recovery and will expand rapidly over the next few years. Adspend in Ireland, Portugal and Spain adspend fell by a total 45% between 2007 and 2013. Adspend in these markets recovered by 8.9% in 2014, however, and 7.3% in 2015, and we forecast average growth of 6.7% a year to 2018. Other European markets that fell sharply during the crisis but are now growing at a rapid pace include Croatia (forecast to grow by 6.1% a year to 2018), Denmark (7.3%), Hungary (5.2%) and Romania (6.3%). Even Greece is expected to enjoy annual growth of 3.9%. These markets have room to growth rapidly for several years to come: after all, they have a lot of ground to make up.

ZenithOptimedia identifies Thirty Rising Media Markets with long-term potential for rapid growth

In the longer term, many smaller advertising markets are now opening up to international advertising, and have the potential to growth at double-digit rates for many years to come. ZenithOptimedia today also publishes a new report, called the Thirty Rising Media Markets, which looks at a selection of 30 up-and-coming markets for the first time. Our regular Advertising Expenditure Forecasts report surveys 81 key advertising markets across the world. For the Thirty Rising Media Markets we decided to look a bit further and identify advertising markets that are developing quickly and are starting to rival the scale of some of the established 81 markets. We estimate that advertising expenditure across these 30 markets totalled US$7.7bn in 2015.

These 30 markets vary widely in nature: in size of population, openness to international business, diversity of economic activities, productivity, and geographically – 16 of our markets are in Africa, seven in Asia, six in Latin America and one in the Middle East. What they share is that their economies are growing rapidly in the long run, and that their advertising markets are growing even faster. We forecast advertising expenditure in these 30 markets to grow at an average rate of 15% a year between 2015 and 2018 – more than three times faster than global average – and to increase by US$3.9bn (a sum equal to the current size of Sweden’s ad market) to US$11.6bn. Advertising accounted for 0.37% of GDP across these 30 markets in 2015, well below the global average of 0.70%, highlighting their long-term growth potential.

Internet will now overtake television next year

As usual, internet advertising is the main driver of global adspend growth. We expect internet advertising as a whole to grow at more than three times the global average rate this year – by 15.7%, driven by social media (31.9%), online video (22.4%) and paid search (15.7%). Internet advertising’s growth rate is slowing as it matures (it was 21.1% in 2014), but we expect it to remain in double digits for the rest of our forecast period. This sustained growth, combined with downgrades to television in Brazil in China, has led us to forecast internet advertising to overtake television advertising globally in 2017, a year earlier than we forecast back in December.

Mobile to contribute 92% of adspend growth

The great majority of new internet advertising is targeted at mobile devices, thanks to their widespread adoption and their ever-tighter integration into consumers’ daily lives. We forecast that mobile advertising expenditure will increase by US$64bn between 2015 and 2018, growing by 128% and accounting for 92% of new advertising dollars added to the global market over these years (not including those markets where we do not have a breakdown of advertising expenditure by medium).

“Rapid growth from countries that are relatively new to the international advertising market, combined with a resurgence of established markets that were damaged by the financial crisis, will keep the global ad market on track for healthy growth for at least the next few years,” said Jonathan Barnard, Head of Forecasting at ZenithOptimedia.

Social recruiting is the latest trend in hiring. It’s a great way to get to know a candidate beyond a traditional CV in order to make better hiring decisions. Bayt.com social platforms – such as Bayt.com Specialties, Bayt.com Company Profile and Bayt.com Public Profile – play a major role in this regard.

Here are the key Highlights from the report followed by a detailed infographic:

80% of professionals check out a company’s social profile before applying for a job.

55% of respondents believe that they are more likely to be hired if they are active on social media channels.

82% of employers research a candidate online before calling them for an interview.

Mars Incorporated, one of the world’s leading confectionary manufacturers, marked National Day and celebrated its recent expansion in the GCC region, including its new, state-of-the-art, SNICKERS® production line at its facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai. This investment has increased the factory’s net assets from US$100 million to US$160 million. 

The new line, which will produce SNICKERS®, will increase the total site’s production capacity from 60,000 to 100,000 tons per year, and create more than 50 jobs to work on the line, adding to over 850 Mars associates currently employed across the GCC. The launch forms part of a major expansion drive of Mars in the GCC region, complementing its new factory in Saudi Arabia that was inaugurated earlier this month at the King Abdullah City. 

At the VIP event in Jebel Ali, organized for Mars GCC’s friends and supporters, dignitaries paid tribute to Mars’ latest expansion. His Excellency Engineer Mohammed Ahmed Bin Abdul Aziz Shihi, Under Secretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy for Economic Affairs, stated: “This state-of-the-art production line is further proof of Mars’ commitment to the region since commencing its operations in Dubai in 1993. Through 43 years of the Union, the UAE has witnessed impressive development within a short period of time. This has transformed Emirati cities into investor-friendly hubs for major corporations such as Mars.”   

His Excellency Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of Economic Zones World, added: “Mars’ expansion reflects Jafza’s success in enabling major international businesses to grow in the UAE and the region. Jafza and Mars’ partnership is based on shared values and interests and Mars’ investment strategy in the region is driven by its long term and sustainable commitment to the region as well as its employees, partners and customers.”

“Both Mars and Jafza have a long-term relationship which began with the set-up of Mars factory in Jebel Ali Free Zone in 1998, as one of the key pioneering companies. The company’s commitment to quality and manufacturing excellence is evident in it being the recipient of the Dubai Quality Award and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award. We are extremely proud to be associated with a company of such high standards,” he added. 

Salma Ali Saif bin Hareb, CEO, Economic Zones World and Jafza, said: “Mars GCC’s expansion is an important step by the company to meet the growing demand of its clients in the Middle East, Africa and Turkey region. The increased production capacity strengthens the company’s presence in the regional emerging markets.”

“Jafza is ready to provide Mars GCC all it requires to operate efficiently, and effectively. This is part of Jafza’s core values based on customer service and simplified procedures. We appreciate the future vision of the company, and will always be available as a facilitator to provide companies like Mars GCC with the perfect environment for doing business and achieving the company’s strategic goals,” she added.

Sami Darouni, President Mars Middle East, Turkey & Africa, stated: “The openings of the new Mars SNICKERS bar line and the new KSA factory constitute new milestones in Mars’ continuous expansion and investment in the UAE, and the wider GCC. Since the beginning of our operations in this region over 40 years ago, we have constantly expanded our manufacturing facility and created jobs and superior products for the GCC market and beyond. Our decision to invest US$140 million to expand our production facilities, which we are marking today, is the latest step in this process.”

With chocolate sales in the Middle East and North Africa expected to reach US$5.8 billion in 2016, the latest expansion of the manufacturing facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone and King Abdullah City in Saudi Arabia demonstrate Mars’ continued commitment to invest in the markets where it sells its iconic brands. The facilities will help the company to continue to meet the demand of the local UAE and KSA markets, as well as 30 additional markets across the Middle East, North Africa and the Sub-continent to which this facility exports.

As the UAE aims to diversify its source of economic growth, manufacturing has played an increasingly important role, and the launch of Mars’ new production line in Dubai will make a positive difference in boosting the manufacturing base in the UAE and the wider region.

The new production line has been implemented using the highest international standards, including HACCP, for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). It will continue to underscore Mars’ commitment to its Quality Principle – the first ingredient of quality brands and the source of the company’s reputation for high standards.