The pandemic has forced many consumers, and therefore businesses and marketers, to go online This has resulted in digital advertising making up for more than 50 percent of all advertising DUBAI: Global advertising expenditure will shrink 9.1 percent in 2020, according to Zenith’s Advertising Expenditure Forecasts. This is similar to the 2009 recession when ad spend dropped by 9.5 percent. The US is reported to have been relatively resilient, benefiting from record political spending in the run-up to the presidential elections in November. However, ad spend in the Middle East and North Africa region is expected to decline by 20 percent. The pandemic has forced many consumers, and therefore businesses and marketers, to go online, resulting in digital advertising making up for more than 50 percent of all advertising. According to global research by Criteo, in recent months 53 percent of consumers have discovered at least one form of online shopping that they plan to continue. Combined with the decreasing footfalls in retail stores, this means that businesses will have to rethink their digital transformation strategies with data and insight at the core. It’s now more important than ever before for brands to personalize their approach to consumers. “Brands need to show consumers that they understand their rapidly evolving needs in this uncertain time,” said Christian Lee, managing director of Zenith Worldwide. “So we are helping our clients integrate their data, digital communications and e-commerce approaches, and leverage them more deeply to deliver personalized experiences throughout the fast-changing customer journey.” This digital transformation means that brands are shifting more money away from traditional advertising, despite digital ad budgets being cut in the first phase of the pandemic. As a result, digital ad spend is forecasted to shrink by just 2 percent in 2020. “The coronavirus forced brands to embrace digital advertising even faster than expected and made digital transformation of businesses more urgent than ever,” said Jonathan Barnard, Zenith’s head of forecasting. “This year will be the first in which digital advertising will attract more than half of total global ad spend, a milestone we previously expected in 2021.”