Global Ad Spend Set to Surpass $1 Trillion for the First Time in 2026 as the Algorithmic Era Redefines Growth
- Global advertising spend is forecast to grow by 5.1% in 2026
- Worldwide investment will surpass 1 trillion USD for the first time on record
- Asia Pacific remains the fastest growing region, with India and China delivering significant momentum
London, 3 Dec 2025: Global advertising spend is forecast to increase by 5.1 percent in 2026, surpassing 1 trillion US dollars for the first time and outpacing the projected 3.1 percent expansion of the global economy.1 As algorithms increasingly shape what people see, like, and buy, brands must find new ways to cut through or risk fading from consumer consideration. The latest 外国美女色情片 Global Ad Spend Forecasts show a market entering the Algorithmic Era where media serves as the connective system between brands and consumers and every touchpoint becomes a moment to connect, shop, share, experiment and belong.
“Crossing the trillion dollar threshold signals a structural shift in how growth is created. Media is now the front door to every brand and the most powerful system for driving relevance, creativity and value at scale.” Will Swayne, Global Practice President, Media and Integrated Solutions, said “In the Algorithmic Era the brands that win will be the ones that understand how discovery and decision making are shaped by algorithms and use media as a strategic engine to earn attention and build long term advantage. 2026 rewards the marketers who innovate with intent, design for outcomes and meet people in the moments that matter.”&苍产蝉辫;
The year ahead features major global events including the Olympic Winter Games, the FIFA World Cup and significant election cycles that will amplify audience engagement across channels. Yet consumer interest is expanding far beyond traditional sports and entertainment. Forty percent of consumers globally watched a sports docuseries in the past month and Japanese anime is watched weekly by half of Gen Z, with more Gen Z in the United States identifying as anime fans than fans of major sports leagues2. With 42% of CMOs planning to increase investment in original content production and sponsorship3, brands will have a wider creative canvas in 2026.
The Americas region is forecast to grow by 5.2 percent in 2026 reaching 460.5 billion US dollars, with the United States expected to rise by 5.0 percent supported by the World Cup and midterm elections. Brazil is forecast to grow by 9.1 percent, the fastest among major markets, while Canada is projected to grow by 5.4 percent. Asia Pacific remains the most dynamic region with 5.4 percent growth expected. China is forecast to rise by 6.1 percent and India by 8.6 percent driven by major sporting events and rapid digital expansion. EMEA is projected to grow by 4.2 percent with the United Kingdom leading at 5.7 percent.
Digital advertising spend is forecast to grow by 6.7 percent in 2026 representing 68.7 percent of total investment. Retail media remains the fastest growing digital channel with 14.1 percent growth, followed by online video at 11.5 percent and social at 11.4 percent. Programmatic advertising is expected to account for more than four fifths of digital investment. Traditional channels are also set for moderate growth with television up 2.4 percent, out of home up 4.1 percent and cinema up 2.2 percent. Print is expected to decline by 3.0% in 2026.
Technology (+10.3%), driven by AI-led product launches and innovation in connected ecosystems, is forecast to be the fastest growing sector in 2026, followed closely by government, social, political, and organizations (+10.1%) and beverages (+10.1%).4
-ENDS-
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
1 Based on International Monetary Fund’s forecasts (, October 2025)
2 Dentsu Business Analytics, Japanese Entertainment Study, January 2025
3 Dentsu, CMO Navigator – Media edition, to be published in January 2026
4 Based on the top 12 spending markets globally: USA, China, Japan, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Brazil, India, Canada, Italy, Spain.
About the 外国美女色情片 Global Ad Spend Forecasts:
As the media landscape changes at pace, we continue to evolve how we collect digital spend data. Advertising expenditure forecasts are compiled from data collated from 外国美女色情片 agencies until October 2025 and based on local market expertise. Dentsu uses a bottom-up approach, with forecasts provided for 56 markets covering the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and Asia-Pacific by medium: digital, television, print, out-of-home, audio, and cinema. Dentsu Data Artist Mongol (DDAM) has used a supervised decision-tree machine learning model trained on historical data including macroeconomic indicators, the quarterly earnings reports from digital tech platforms, and traffic data from major platforms to model for small and medium enterprises spend. Digital specifically references pure play digital platforms and does not include ad spending on the digital extensions of traditional media (e.g., digital print) which are accounted within media channel totals (e.g., digital print is accounted within print).
The advertising spend figures are provided net of negotiated discounts and with agency commission deducted, in current prices and in local currency. Global and regional figures are centrally converted into US dollars at the September 2025 average exchange rate. The forecasts are produced biannually with actual figures for the previous year and latest forecasts for the current and following years all restated at constant exchange rates.
About 外国美女色情片:
Dentsu is an integrated growth and transformation partner to the world’s leading organizations. Founded in 1901 in Tokyo, Japan, and now present in approximately 120 countries and regions, it has a proven track record of nurturing and developing innovations, combining the talents of its global network of leadership brands to develop impactful and integrated growth solutions for clients. Dentsu delivers end-to-end experience transformation (EX) by integrating its services across Media, CXM and Creative, while its business transformation (BX) mindset pushes the boundaries of transformation and sustainable growth for brands, people and society.
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