Some leading advertising analysts have shared their belief that local advertising will slightly drop next year. However, new projections from BIA Advisory Services claim local advertising will rise ever so slightly in 2024.
The new report released in the 2024 U.S. Local Advertising Forecast claims all media advertising will hit $175.6 billion next year, thanks in large part to the upcoming presidential election.
That figure represents an 8.6% increase compared to 2023 despite the concerns of an ad market downturn.
Local advertising is expected to account for $164.5 billion, rising only 2.2%.
“As expected, 2024 will be driven by political spending, and, even in markets that are not highly contested there will be a large amount of political advertising,” said Vice President of Forecasting & Analysis Nicole Ovadia.
“Local political advertising will be fueled by the Presidential and Senate campaigns as well as issue-based advertising. When we look at the forecast without political, we expect only a slight increase in ad spending due to both global and local economic trends that may create more cautious spending.”
The forecast projects that connected and over-the-top television can expected a nearly 40% increase, with over-the-air television seeing a 30% increase. Political advertising is forecasted to grow exponentially next year. The sector will spend a whopping 2028.3% more next year than it did this year.
“When you look at which media will grow from this year to 2024, local political advertising is the main driver, which is terrific for local sellers of these channels,” said Ovadia. “Beyond political, several other verticals will increase next year.
“One category to keep an eye on is Realtors looking to advertise to drum up demand. Declining verticals include those that experienced growth during the pandemic, like veterinary services, that have now waned. Also worth noting is that many states legalized online gambling this year so we expect this sector to reduce its local ad spending and move towards National/Network advertising going forward.”
