'IRL' ad investment worldwide will reach $44.4 billion in 2022

Spend on out-of-home (OOH) and cinema advertising, media dependent on in real life (IRL) experiences will rise this year to just 1.6% behind pre-pandemic levels, based on a new WARC analysis.

Part of WARC Data Premium’s Global Advertising Trends, the new report compares global OOH and cinema ad spend with The Economist’s ‘normalcy index’, tracking public activity across transport, recreation, retailing and work.

Why it matters

WARC’s forecast shows that IRL ad spend worldwide will reach $44.4 billion in 2022, a shortfall of $0.7 billion on the $45.1 billion spent in 2019, but nonetheless tracking ahead of consumer activity levels. The recovery will continue into 2023, when the IRL ad market will reach a new high of $47.1 billion. 

In detail

OOH media owners are beginning to claw back some of the ad investment lost during the pandemic. A 16.5% year-on-year increase is forecast for Q1 2022; a year later spending will still be growing at 11.0% in Q1 2023.

Full recovery by 2021

Out of a dozen major markets analysed by WARC Data, only Australia (+1.5%) and the United States (+0.9%) can expect OOH ad spend in 2022 to match or better total annual ad revenues from 2019. The OOH spend slump is most pronounced in India (-42.1%) and Brazil (-27.4%), while investment in Italy is forecast to be 21.0% down on pre-COVID levels.

Key quote

“Brands are preparing for a future dominated by virtual interactions in the metaverse. However, it’s vital that marketers do not neglect those all-important physical moments between our digital experiences,” says Alex Brownsell, head of content, WARC Media.

“WARC’s analysis of the IRL ad economy shows that brands understand the role that channels like OOH and cinema play in the media mix, and that they are investing ahead of activities such as commuting, in-person socialising and in-store shopping returning to pre-pandemic levels.” 

Global Ad Trends: The IRL Economy is available to all. WARC Data subscribers can read the report in full. Non-subscribers can download a sample report.