What is the forecast for 2021 in local advertising?

BIA Advisory Services just released its forecast for 2021 in local advertising and the forecast is rosy. According to BIA, there will be a 2.5% year-over-year increase in local advertising. BIA estimates total local advertising revenue across all media in the U.S. will reach $137.5 billion in 2021.

“As the expected presence of vaccines will help with the continuing rebound in the economy, we expect this increase will occur throughout 2021 even without the presence of significant political advertising,” BIA predicts.

Next year, traditional media revenue will account for 55.3% of total local advertising. Traditional media – or offline media –  will result in $76.1 billion, a slight decline from 2020 levels. Digital media revenue will account for 44.7% or $61.5 billion in 2021, a 3.7% increase from this year. Despite the fact that the forecast for 2021 in local advertising shows an increase in advertising, BIA does not expect a spending recovery to pre-COVID levels until 2022.

Forecast for 2021 in local advertising:

Local television and local radio

According to BIA, local television and radio will hold their position in the top 5 media for 2021 in terms of ad spend and percentage. Local television, the 4th leading media, projects to receive $15.7 billion. Local radio, the 5th leading media, projects to receive $12.6 billion.  Even with the continued popularity of digital media, traditional media still retains sizable audiences that many national and local advertisers want to reach.

Local mobile and local online advertising

Local mobile advertising will continue to get more of its share of local advertising. In 2020, $19.8 billion will have been spent on mobile and that will grow significantly to $23.4 billion in 2021. Collectively, local mobile and online will account for more than one-third of all local advertising.

Over-the-Top (OTT) Locally Activated Advertising

Overall, OTT had a good year and will continue to grow in 2021 as it provides targeted advertising capabilities with quality video programming. OTT consists of streaming tv platforms like Hulu, Roku, Amazon Prime, Peacock and many others. Therefore, BIA estimates it will grow from $1.0 billion in 2020 to $1.2 billion in 2021. OTT TV allows you to purchase fragmented inventory with the ability to hone in on your audience. This in return help sellers better justify local OTT buying.

Carolina Macedo, the author, is Project Coordinator of Marketing Keys.

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