How much do companies spend on advertising? Benchmarks, trends, and insights for 2025

Global digital advertising spend is projected to reach $870 billion by 2025 (Statista, 2024).

In the contemporary business environment, advertising is the fuel for business growth, driving brand exposure, recognition, and ultimately, revenue.

The world has become a highly competitive digital environment, and today, companies are investing a significant amount of money in advertising to capture the attention of consumers.

This guide breaks down advertising budgets by industry, company size, and platform, and offers tips to plan your marketing spend effectively.

Advertising budget benchmarks by industry in 2025

The global advertising industry is an interdependent environment that evolves in response to economic conditions, technological advancements, and shifting consumer preferences.

According to Statista, the total ad spend globally was estimated to have exceeded $1 trillion in 2024, representing a 7.3% increase from 2023.

Digital marketing is the driving force behind this increase, with digital advertising accounting for 50% of overall ad spend in 2024, while traditional channels continue to experience a consistent decline.

Key global statistics

1. Total Ad spend:

Global advertising revenues are projected to surpass $1 trillion by 2026, with digital channels leading the way.

2. Digital dominance:

Digital advertising now accounts for 50% of global ad spend, with $700 billion projected to be allocated to digital formats by 2025.

3. Per capita spending:

On average, marketers spend $140 per capita globally, with the U.S. leading at $1,246 per capita in 2024.

Digital vs. traditional advertising: The shift in budgets

The advertising environment has undergone drastic changes with the shift from conventional to digital media.

Although older media, such as television, radio, and print, are not discredited, digital media reigns supreme due to its ability to be narrowly focused and scaled.

Digital advertising

Digital advertising is a marketing model that involves ads on search engines, social media, video platforms, and programmatic advertising.

Global digital ad spending totaled $667.6 billion in 2024, with projections indicating it will reach $700 billion in 2025.

These significant trends are:

1. Search advertising:

40% of online advertisement expenses, global spending, totalled $185.35 billion in 2022 and is estimated to increase to $261 billion by 2028.

2. Social media Ads:

The portion of digital spend has jumped to include 40% of ad spend, with Meta and TikTok leading the way.

In 2025, TikTok is projected to earn $33.1 billion in advertising alone.

3. Programmatic advertising:

In 2024, 82.4% of all digital advertising was programmatic, with digital ad spend reaching $650 billion.

Traditional advertising

Traditional media, such as TV, radio, newspapers, and out-of-home (OOH) advertising, are aging as advertising avenues, but remain applicable in specific scenarios.

In 2024, the world spent a total of $46.23 billion on print advertising, with newspapers accounting for $33.35 billion of this amount.

But the problem with traditional media is that;

1. Slump of print:

Revenue growth in print advertising is slowing down in the U.S., with forecasts projecting a $2.4 billion decline between 2021 and 2026.

2. TV advertising:

A decrease in spending on linear TV ads in the United States is forecasted to reach its all-time low in more than ten years by 2025, but in-stream TV advertisements are increasing revenues.

Why the shift?

Digital advertising has been influenced by various factors that render it more attractive than the traditional modes of advertising.

1. Cost-effectiveness:

Digital ads, particularly programmatic and social media, are less expensive per impression than traditional media, such as TV or print.

2. Tangible ROI:

Digital platforms provide real-time data on clicks, conversions, and engagement.

Traditional media relies on estimates, making ROI more challenging to track.

3. Consumer behavior:

With global smartphone penetration at 68% and people spending an average of 4.8 hours daily on mobile devices, digital platforms have become the most effective way to reach consumers.

4. Flexible and scalable:

Digital campaigns can be adjusted in real time.

Programmatic tools automate ad placements, enabling brands to optimize budgets and enhance efficiency.

Global reach:

Platforms like Google and Meta allow businesses to run targeted campaigns across countries.

This is especially useful in growing markets such as India, where digital ad spending is rising by 12.1% annually.

Industry-specific advertising spending

Every industry plans its advertising budgets based on the audience it wishes to reach and the market dynamics.

Here are some key industries:

Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)

1. Share of spend in digital: The share of ad spend in FMCG in 2023 was 21.6%, up from 19.5% in 2022.

2. Focus areas: FMCG brands have been investing heavily in social and video ads, and video ads are 120% more engaging than other types of ads.

Retail

1. Ad spending share: Retail accounts for 12.3% of all digital ad spend globally, with a focus on retail media networks (RMNs), such as Amazon and Walmart.

2. Retail media growth: Retail media is reshaping advertising, and ads that are non-endemic (such as airline advertisements on Amazon) are also gaining popularity.

Telecom

Growth rate: Telecom has led the growth in market share of digital ad spend by 20.9%.

Competitive markets and the introduction of new products drive this.

Travel and tourism

Travel: Travel ad spend at the end of the pandemic in 2023 was estimated at $6.28 billion and was expected to rise to $7.24 billion by 2024.

Technology

Digital orientation: Tech companies allocate 87.1% of their marketing budgets to augmented reality and live-streaming of new product launches via digital platforms.

Tips to optimize your advertising budget for maximum ROI

Here is a refined version of tips to optimize your advertising budget for maximum ROI:

1. Set clear, measurable goals

Define what you want to achieve with your advertising.

Are you targeting more leads, conversions, brand awareness, or website traffic? Use SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound to track performance effectively.

2. Understand your target audience

Identify your ideal customer and tailor your messaging to meet their specific needs and behaviors.

Utilize analytics tools to examine demographics, interests, and the platforms your audience uses most frequently.

3. Focus on high-performing channels

Analyze past campaigns to see which platforms delivered the best results.

Eliminate or reduce spending on underperforming channels and allocate a larger budget to those with higher returns.

4. Test before scaling

Avoid committing your entire budget upfront. Run small-scale tests to compare different ad creatives, headlines, targeting options, and platforms.

5. Use retargeting strategies

Not all users convert on their first visit. Utilize retargeting to follow up with individuals who have expressed interest in your product or service, such as website visitors, email subscribers, or users who have abandoned their shopping carts.

Case studies: How top brands allocate Ad budgets

Alphabet (Google)

1. Ad spend: Alphabet invests billions of dollars annually to place TV ads, as well as social media ads and digital campaigns, to market Google Search, Pixel phones, and YouTube.

2. Google’s Ad revenue in 2024 was $264.59 billion.

Amazon

1. Retail media: In 2024, Amazon contributed 11% of digital ad spend through its RMN to its non-endemic advertising.
Samsung

2. Global Campaigns: In 2017 alone, Samsung invested $2.41 billion in the U.S., including campaigns such as #DoWhatYouCant and the launch of the Galaxy S8.

Challenges and opportunities

The challenges and opportunities include:

Challenges

1. Ad fatigue: An average consumer views over 6,000 ads daily, leading to annoyance and ad avoidance.

2. Regulatory compliance: The Health and financial industries have stringent rules governing advertising, which affect the campaign speed and dexterity.

Opportunities

1. Personalization: 68% of marketers observe better performance with personalized advertising.

2. Emerging markets: Emerging markets, such as India and Brazil, are promising due to the growth of their middle classes.

Optimizing Ad spend in the digital advertising industry

Today, advertising spending reflects a dynamic trend in which advertisers are shifting towards digital platforms, driven by changes in consumer behaviour, technological advancements, and economic factors.

It is estimated that the global advertising market will continue to increase by trillions of dollars in the future; therefore, companies are shifting their investments to digital platforms, including search, social media, and programmatic ads.

FAQs

Q.1 What is the level of spending on advertising by companies around the world?

Worldwide, spending on advertising is expected to reach 1.416 trillion in 2029, with a high estimate of 1.1 trillion in 2024.

Q. 2 What is the division between digital and traditional advertising?

The global ad spend was 50% digital in 2024, with a $700 billion expenditure on digital formats.

The remaining was in the traditional media, such as TV and print, with print registering a sharp decline.

Q. 3 What industries are the biggest advertisers?

Digital ad spending is dominated by FMCG (21.6%), followed by retail (12.3%), pharma/healthcare (8%), and then media and entertainment (7.6%) and auto (7.5%).

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