According to new advertising statistics available here, the steady extraction of the global economy from its worldwide recession is showing clearly in the advertising sector. In all areas of advertising the world over, growth rates are expected to rise, and in some areas more than others - Yet these figures can be somewhat misleading.
For example, in developed countries, the growth rate is expected to increase by 2.4% in 2011 AND 2.9% in 2012, as compared to developing countries where growth rates are expected to reach 9.1% and 9.8% respectively. The obvious conclusion to be drawn, at least at first glance, is that developing sectors offer more opportunity by way of advertising as docurrently developed regions. However, these numbers need to be taken incontext. The discrepancy in the level of quality and overall influencing power of media from developed countries like the US, as compared to developing countries like India, is massive. Therefore, to conclude that there is less opportunity for advertisers in developed countries due to a mere 2.4% increase expectancy, may not only be a misrepresentation of that numbers true power, but the exact opposite might be the real truth. It’s the equivalent of saying a national football team with a mediocre record would be the underdog next to your local neighborhood champions. You can’t compare, they’re simply in different leagues.
The misleading nature of these numbers in sector specific statistics also pops up again in media venue stats. According to the same article, TV is capturing the majority of advertising focus with a lion’s share of 40.8%, up from 39.2 in 2009. Internet on the other hand is up from 12.7% to 17.1%. One might be tempted to make the same argument of older developed market numbers being worth more than developing sectors like internet, but that would not fit within the contextual reality. TV is a highly segmented market with local and regional divides demarcating clear cut segmentation between the sectors. When a commercial airs in a local township, that commercial will not reach anywhere far beyond its original local, and certainly it garner any global, or even regional coverage. Therefore the large 40.8% number is not nearly as powerful as it sounds from an advertiser’s perspective looking to branch out globally. The internet on the other hand, is a whole different kind of animal where advertising’s reach is far more readily made global, be grudging that 17.1% figure far more significance than one might otherwise like to give it.
Look at it this way: As the article notes, it is the spread of mobile and social media that is effectively fuelling the large leap forward in the internet advertising sector. If comparing the meteoric rise of global mobile carriers and social media giants, like Facebook and Twitter, can beviewed as indicators for the true power of internet advertising statistics, then such numbers can be compared to a body builder in really baggy clothing, i.e. first impressions can be deceiving.
