By Antoinette Siu • December 6, 2023 • 3 min read •
This editorial series examines industry trends across the media, media buying and marketing sectors as 2023 closes and the new year begins. More from the series →
The year 2024 is expected to be big for ad spending, with the potentially most expensive presidential election in history on the way. But there is still some uncertainty in the industry, given the economic conditions and the move toward cookie deprecation.
Many independent agencies are hearing a positive outlook from clients, while others indicate more reserved spending as the economy continues to recover.
“Clients are keeping macroeconomic conditions in mind as we head into 2024,” said Stephanie Stanczak, vp of media operations at Ocean Media. “However, it feels to be a repeat from early 2023 where clients want to plan for the year, but have contingencies in place so they can pull back on dollars if needed.”
Focusing on brand and performance
Some media agencies have reported increased spending in Q4, which instills greater confidence for the upcoming year. However, the clients’ budgets are “dictated by performance,” said Jack Connor, head of media at agency Geletka+.
“We’ve seen stronger than forecasted results across the board so far in Q4, so we expect spending to continue trending up into the new year,” Conner added.
Warren Jolly, CEO of digital marketing agency adQuadrant, also noted fluctuation from category to category, adding that some larger brands will possibly “decline or be flat due to interest rates, inflation, incumbency and various other factors that will force them to take a more conservative approach.”
Other “challenger brands” will likely increase their 2024 spending to take advantage of this opportunity to increase market share while the big brands hold back, Jolly added.
Economic recovery
While holiday spending may provide momentum for the New Year, some say continued economic uncertainty will dampen spending for 2024. Clients are expecting year-over-year drops in ad performance, despite holiday optimism.
Christena Garduno, CEO of Media Culture, agreed that some brands are still “wary” of the inflation and economic uncertainty that is resulting in mixed feelings on the client side.
“Clients have so far been relatively frugal with their 2024 spending,” Garduno said. “Overall, clients’ reactions to the 2024 budget have been conflicting. Though much caution obviously exists, there is considerable optimism.”
“Clients have so far been relatively frugal with their 2024 spending,” Garduno said. “Overall, clients’ reactions to the 2024 budget have been conflicting. Though much caution obviously exists, there is considerable optimism.”
However,