FIFA World Cup expected to boost global adspend

According to ZenithOptimedia’s new Advertising Expenditure Forecasts, it is predicted that the FIFA World Cup will boost global adspend by an estimated US$1.5bn this year.The event will deliver large television audiences and high interest in news media and sport websites, at a time of year when – in the northern hemisphere at least – people normally spend less time consuming media. TV is expected to benefit the most, but World Cup advertisers will spend more of their budgets on internet advertising, with advertisers more active on social media than during any previous sporting event.The World Cup will help the global ad market grow 5.4% in 2014, up from 3.9% in 2013. Growth will continue to improve over the next two years, reaching 5.7% in 2015 and 6.1% in 2016, driven by continued economic recovery, including, at last, the Eurozone.The World Cup is forecasted to have the biggest impact in Latin America, where the matches will be ideally timed for Latin American viewers. ZenithOptimedia predicts that the World Cup will add as much as US$500m to the Latin American ad market this year. Despite the lower levels of interest in football in North America, the Cup is expected to add an extra US$300m to the region and an extra US$300m in Western Europe, where time differences are still considered good. The time differences in Asia Pacific, however, will see a lower level of additional spend in the region: US$250m. The remaining US$150m is expected to come from Central & Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and the rest of the world.“The World Cup is a great opportunity for advertisers to reach passionate and involved audiences worldwide. While television will remain central to how fans experience the competition, advertisers are using digital media more than ever before to help shape this experience. Over the next few years internet advertising will play an even greater role in supplementing the brand-building power of television,” said Steve King, ZenithOptimedia’s CEO, Worldwide.