Media costs have increased by 4.0% this year worldwide, a larger increase than initially expected, according to data from ECI Media Management. This compares to a 3.0% rise that was forecasted at the beginning of the year.
TV will see the largest increase in costs, with inflation of 6.0% in the latest forecast. This is almost double the rate of increase that was expected at the start of the year.
Online video then follows, with inflation of 4.6% this year. This is likely a result of growing advertiser demand for connected TV formats as audiences watch for longer.
Total media inflation this year is softest in North America, up by 3.8%. Asia Pacific (4.0%) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (4.1%) match the global average, while strong inflation is expected in Latin America (4.9%) which is being driven by rising online costs.
Further inflation is expected in 2022, with online media up by 3.3% and offline media rising by 3.4%. As a result, offline prices this year won’t recover fully to 2019 levels but they are expected to in 2022 in most regions.
Additional data shows that the cost of retail media advertising is also rising quickly, up by 24%, as brands emphasise online selling. This comes as marketers give greater focus to combining brand-building and e-commerce.
There is also a greater focus on other currency metrics, including attention.
Credit: WARC