A game changing year for advertising and communications

Advertising spend trends

Worldwide, economists are predicting that both developed and developing economies are starting to show signs of exiting the stagnant economic conditions - and this bodes well for advertising revenues.

MagnaGlobal, which forecasts across all media channels, expects global ad revenues to grow by 6.5%. This is the largest year-on-year growth since 2010 when the world economy exited the 2009 recession. Worldwide growth is mirrored by the units' predictions for the Middle-East and Africa region of 6.3%.

The shifting landscape

Digital media will become even more prevalent in the marketing mix, buoyed by its 15% growth in global ad spend in 2013, accounting for a total of 24% of total spend. Dwarfing this number was the 58% growth reflected by social network ad spend. Clearly this reinforces the trend toward digital with marketers having to ensure that digital reflects a major part of their campaigns.

The rising buzzword - content

The trend of pictures rather than words in delivering campaigns will continue to dominate the digital landscape. A picture paints a thousand words and brands will need to focus on this trend.

The new agency

The agency of 2014 will be characterised by investment in new technology and staff with different skill sets to those currently employed. More so than ever, integrated campaigns emanating from full service shops will define the agency of the future.

South African agencies are home to some of the most creative minds globally and will continue to deliver world-class campaigns that yield successful business results.