Five companies – Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Bytedance, and Meta – will attract over half (51.9%) of global advertising spend in 2024, which will top $1 trillion for the first time.

The World Advertising Research Center (WARC) has released a report titled 'The Future of Media 2024', which delves into the trends shaping media planning, advertising investments, and the media ecosystem. The rise of AI has sparked questions about media quality and the future of advertising on the open internet. The report also covers the increasing influence of AI, the current state of linear TV, the future of attention measurement, and the growth of in-game advertising.

Linear TV consumption has been in gradual decline over the last decade, particularly among younger audiences. Global linear TV ad spend decreased by 5.4% in 2023. Only 18% of marketers worldwide plan to increase their investment in linear TV in 2024, while 39% plan to withdraw spend. Global linear TV consumption is forecast to decline by a further 2 minutes per day (1.9%) in 2024.

Dave Campanelli, EVP/Chief Investment Officer, Horizon Media, said: “We hear a lot about 'linear is dead'. People are still watching linear TV. They tend to be older, but they are still watching linear TV. And it's 50% of this whole pie. Our budgets need to represent that, depending on your age segment and who you're going after.”

Brands and agencies are increasingly embracing attention measurement as a means of assessing creative and media quality, according to the report while the gaming industry, with a global audience of over 3 billion, remains a largely untapped opportunity for brands. Research by IAB estimates that gaming accounts for 5% of advertiser budgets. PWC estimates that video game advertising revenues will be worth $91 billion in 2024. More than half (51%) of advertisers plan to increase their investments in gaming in 2024.

Paul Stringer, Managing Editor, Research & Insights, WARC, commented, “As marketing budgets rebound in 2024, uncertainty swirls around where best to direct investments in media, the role of AI in planning, and how to assess media quality. And as politics temporarily engulf culture with impending elections in several major economies, and the threat of low-quality AI generated content looms large, media environments that can offer suitable guarantees around brand safety will take on extra value. With this report we aim to provide insights and data enabling marketers to be better equipped to make informed decisions and plan for success in the year ahead.”

Karen Nelson-Field, Founder and CEO, Amplified Intelligence, stressed the need for robust evidence for attention measurement, saying, “It’s clear that the industry needs more robust evidence [for attention measurement] to convince CFOs and procurement teams that low-cost media doesn’t necessarily equate to efficiency. When we focus on business effects and align with the goals of CFOs, the industry as a whole will benefit.”