Four industries plus the 'other' category will exceed the national ad spending 12.6% growth rate

Nearly every industry vertical we track outperformed our spending expectations last year, and most will see growth accelerate in 2024. We projected a 9.7% national increase in 2023, but the final number was a slightly more robust 10.6%. We expect most industries to build on that momentum with even higher YoY growth rates in 2024. But a few will either decelerate substantially (retail and travel) or lag the national rate by a significant margin (media and entertainment).

The telecom industry saw an unexpected spending surge in 2023 that has carried over into 2024. Two years ago, the category slumped to a 1.8% growth rate amid a turbulent stretch for the major US telecom companies. But a turnaround began last year, and this year we expect the reinvigorated competition between the likes of Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile to push the industry over $20 billion in digital ad spending for the first time.

The “other” category will take second place in growth this year, thanks to political ad spending. “Other” comprises a smorgasbord of smaller ad spenders such as real estate, nonprofits, professional services, energy, manufacturing, industrials, politics, and education. Once every four years, the political portion of that equation surges. US digital political ad spending will spike by 362.6% this year, propelling “other” to unusual outcomes in many of our industry ad spending rankings.

Read the full report, US Ad Spending by Industry 2024.