Borrell: Local Digital Ad Market to Jump 9%

BY Kathy Crosett
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Digital ad spending in the local market is set to jump 9.2% this year, according to the 2019 Benchmarking Local Media’s Digital Revenues report from Borrell Associates. This projection is based on their survey of over 3,800 local market advertisers. The anticipated spending projection amounts to about $77 billion. How much of this spending can you tap into?

Last year, digital advertising amounted to $67.4 billion in the local markets, or 53% of the total. This year, digital will snag a 63% market share. While the digital growth sounds impressive, not all players are getting a share of this pie. Borrell analysts estimate that Google and Facebook control at least $57 billion of the spending. This year, with 70% of the local ad market being managed by pure-​plays, traditional media companies likely have access to about $10.3 billion of the spending.

For traditional media companies, core revenue is likely to be as follows this year, with the digital revenue figures in parentheses:

  • Newspapers $10.5 billion ($3.8 billion)
  • Radio $9.1 billion ($0.9 billion)
  • Cable $3.3 billion ($0.4 billion)
  • Yellow Pages $4.2 billion ($1.8 billion)

While local digital advertising may be soaring this year, analysts project a 4.9% boost next year. And by 2021, the digital ad spending increase in local markets could slow to 0.3 percent.

One way to make sure you secure some of the ad spending for your property is to sell a package that includes both digital and traditional ads. Consumers are rarely influenced by a single ad or ad format. When they see ads in multiple environments, they'll be more likely to notice them. In addition, you can help your clients determine how they stack up against competitors in the digital advertising realm. The Digital Audit report, available at AdMall from SalesFuel​.com, will give you statistics to open these kinds of conversations with prospects and clients. 


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