WPP Media on Monday revised down its forecast for global advertising revenue growth in 2025 to 6%, from an earlier estimate of 7.7%, citing increased uncertainty over U.S. trade policies. Advertisers appear to be delaying new marketing commitments amid shifting trade dynamics, the report by WPP’s media investment division revealed.
Digital advertising remains a key revenue driver for major tech firms including Google (Alphabet), Meta Platforms, Pinterest, Reddit, and Snap. The report highlighted how economic uncertainty is accelerating the adoption of AI tools for ad creation and targeting. Meta, for instance, plans to enable brands to fully create and target ads using AI tools by the end of 2026.
Research from Emarketer also suggests companies reliant on traditional keyword-based search ads may face revenue declines due to the rise of AI-driven search advertising.
WPP Media projects global advertising revenue will reach $1.08 trillion in 2025, with growth moderating to 6.1% in 2026. Digital advertising is expected to represent 73.2% of total ad revenue this year. Notably, user-generated content is forecasted to generate more ad revenue than professionally produced content in 2025.
The report anticipates print advertising revenue will decline by 3.1% to $45.5 billion in 2025, while search ad revenue is forecast to grow by 7.3%.
WPP Media also noted shifting brand strategies, including prioritizing flexible ad contracts, reallocating budgets toward direct-to-consumer media placements, and emphasizing secure data handling amidst economic uncertainty.
The U.S. remains the largest advertising market, with an expected growth of 5.6% to $404.7 billion, followed by China and the UK.