• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, September 22, 2014

Global ad spending is back on a healthy expansion track, and much of it -- not surprisingly -- is coming from the rapid consumer adoption of digital media, which will account for 28.3% of total ad spending by 2016, according to the latest quarterly forecast from Publicis’ ZenithOptimedia unit. At that rate, digital -- including both mobile and desktop Internet advertising -- will increase its share of ad budgets by more than seven percentage points over 2013, the year ZenithOptimedia baselines its current estimates.

The big losers in terms of ad market share are the major traditional media -- including the biggest, TV, which will see its share slide 1.3 percentage points to 38.3% of all ad spending in 2016. The biggest losers will be print media. Collectively, newspapers’ and magazines’ share of ad spending will erode 5.2 percentage points to a 19.6% share of total ad spending by 2016.

The good news for all media is that the global ad economy is forecast to expand at a much healthier rate -- nearly 6% -- over the next couple of years, although it still won’t be keeping pace with global economic expansion.

“New technology is improving most areas of internet advertising. Improved advertising formats -- such as the 'Rising Stars' identified by the Interactive Advertising Bureau in the U.S. -– are making internet display more interactive and attention-grabbing, with consumers more likely to view, remember and interact with them than older formats,” the agency report says, adding: “Meanwhile programmatic buying is evolving to allow more sophisticated and efficient targeting of display audiences, and is becoming better at delivering premium, brand-building experiences. ZenithOptimedia forecasts traditional display advertising to grow at an average of 15.8% a year between 2013 and 2016, up from 12.3% a year between 2010 and 2013. Social media display is growing much faster -- at an average of 29.9% a year between 2013 and 2016 -- with advertisers exploiting the explosion of mobile social media use and the ability to target across desktop and mobile.”