US Offline Media Spend in 2021 and the Outlook for 2022

February 7, 2022

Total US advertising and marketing spend in 2021 grew by 21.6% year-over-year to total $436.3 billion — $77.4 billion more than the annual spend in 2020. Offline media contributed to this increase, growing by 7.6% over 2020 to total $196 billion, per a report from Winterberry Group.

Although offline media spend did see growth in 2021, the trend towards shifting investment to online media continues. Spending on online channels has now surpassed that of offline channels. The higher growth in spending on digital channels can also be seen globally, with data from Zenith showing a higher average annual growth rate between 2021 and 2024 for digital media than offline media

Here’s a rundown of offline channels in order of their total spend in 2021.

Linear TV

Spending on linear TV continues to waver. However, 2021’s year-over-year (y-o-y) dip of 3.2% is less severe than it was a year earlier. Nevertheless, linear TV still represents the largest share of total offline media spend, at $60.1 billion. 

This year, spending is actually expected to increase. Estimates show that marketers are expected to spend $62.1 billion on linear TV ads this year, a y-o-y increase of 3.5%.

Experiential/Sponsorship

Considered one of the least intrusive forms of advertising, experiential/sponsorship media spend plummeted in 2020. With a slow return to sponsored events in 2021, media spend in this area saw some recovery — growing 27.6% y-o-y to reach $36.1 billion.

The channel is also expected to see growth this year, with spend forecast to reach $42.2 billion, up 16.8% y-o-y.

Shopper Marketing

Accounting for $21.6 billion of spend in 2021, Shopper Marketing media, which includes merchandising, in-store displays, sampling, retail-specific coupons/offers and in-store events, grew by 11% over 2020. The growth is expected to continue into this year, with spending predicted to grow by 7.4% y-o-y to reach $23.2 billion. 

Radio 

Despite growing competition from streaming music in terms of daily use, radio saw a lift in marketing spend last year. The increase of 16.8% y-o-y brought spending on this channel up to $11.9 billion. 

Winterberry Group estimates that media spend on radio will reach $12.4 billion in 2022, representing y-o-y growth of 3.9%.

Magazines and Newspapers

Marketers invested $7.5 billion in print magazine media last year, a decrease of 8.1% over 2020. The near future does not look promising for print magazines, with spending expected to drop by 17.2% this year to $6.2 billion.

Print newspaper media is estimated to see less dramatic decreases in spending this year (-9.1% to $6.3 billion) after already being subjected to a y-o-y decrease of 6.1% in 2021, representing a mere $7 billion in total offline marketing spend.

Traditional Outdoor 

After unprecedented declines in advertising revenues in 2020, out-of-home (OOH) advertising experienced signs of recovery last year. Indeed, this report shows that traditional outdoor marketing spend increased by 9% y-o-y to reach $7.1 billion.

This year is expected to be an even better year for traditional outdoor media, with spending predicted to grow by 15% to total $8.2 billion.

Addressable TV

Of the offline channels examined, Addressable TV saw the most growth in 2021 (33.2%), with advertisers spending $2.9 billion on this channel last year. With data from Advertiser Perceptions showing that half of ad buyers surveyed expect to increase their spend on addressable linear TV this year, it’s not surprising that Winterberry Group estimates double-digit growth again in 2022 (27.4% to reach $3.6 billion).

The full report can be found here.

For more on media trends and audiences, check out MarketingCharts’ Media Audience Demographics, 8th Annual Edition.

Chart-Library-Ad-1

Explore More Articles.

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

9 in 10 RevOps professionals view data analysis skills as being important, a high percentage also don’t believe they need this skill for their job.

Marketing Charts Logo

Stay on the cutting edge of marketing.

Sign up for our free newsletter.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This