Vincent Letang of Magna Global: Better economic scene in 2014 will chiefly boost ad spend in TV and digital media

World advertisement investment climbed to $489.6 billion in 2013, a figure 3.2 percent higher than the year before, according to Magna Global, the global division of media analysis and forecasts of IPG Mediabrands. The study, which measured advertising revenues in 72 individual countries, establishes Latin America as the region with the greatest growth (9.5 percent), followed by Eastern Europe (7.9 percent) and Asia-Pacific (6.3 percent). The more developed markets showed scant increases: United States (1.5 percent) and Western Europe (0.8 percent).The greatest growth of 2013 occurred in two high-inflation markets (20 percent or more) – Argentina and Venezuela – which showed hikes in ad spend of 26 percent and 19 percent, respectively.The media classification that surged most was social media, on mobile devices in particular. In the past 18 months, the use of social media has migrated to mobile devices and platforms at a much faster pace than expected, the Magna Global study says.Vincent Letang, executive VP and director of global forecasting at Magna Global, said that “the combination of an improved economic environment and stronger-than-usual cyclical drivers is bound to unlock marketing and branding budgets in 2014. This will primarily benefit television and digital media where new formats and opportunities are being explored for activation and branding campaigns”.