WPP Media lowers 2025 global ad rev growth forecast to 6%; India in top 10 markets at 8.4%

WPP Media has revised its global advertising revenue growth forecast for 2025 to 6%, down from its earlier projection of 7.7%, citing concerns over shifting U.S. trade policies.

WPP’s media investment arm has said economic uncertainty is causing advertisers to delay new commitments to their marketing plans.

The company has released a report highlighting that ongoing ambiguity around trade measures is prompting marketers to pause or reconsider their spending decisions. In response to these conditions, brands are also accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence tools for ad production and targeting, the report noted.

WPP Media has said that it expects global advertising revenues to reach $1.08 trillion in 2025, with a 6.1% growth rate forecast for 2026. Digital advertising will remain the dominant channel, and is projected to contribute over 73% of the total global ad revenue this year.

The other key highlights of the report are:

• Digital advertising continues to dominate, with pure-play digital expected to account for 73.2% of global ad revenue in 2025 — rising to 81.6% when including digital extensions such as streaming TV, DOOH, and digital print. 

• Retail media remains one of the fastest-growing segments, projected to reach $169.6 billion globally in 2025 and grow to $252.1 billion by 2030, making up 18% of all ad revenue by decade’s end. 

• User-generated content is overtaking professional production: In 2025, more than half of content-driven advertising revenue will come from platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Kuaishou, and Instagram Reels. Creator-generated revenue will hit $184.9 billion this year, up 20% from 2024, and is expected to more than double to $376.6 billion by 2030. 

• TV (including streaming) is projected to grow modestly — up 1.0% to $162.5 billion in 2025, with streaming TV alone contributing $41.8 billion and expected to grow rapidly to $71.9 billion by 2030. 

• Out-of-home (OOH) advertising remains stable, with digital OOH (DOOH) comprising 41% of the $52 billion OOH market in 2025. 

• Print advertising continues its decline, forecast to fall -3.1% in 2025 to $45.5 billion. 

• Audio advertising remains flat at $26.5 billion, as growth in streaming is offset by a -1.7% decline in terrestrial formats. 

• Search (Intelligence) revenue is expected to grow 7.3% to $226.2 billion in 2025.