Advertising Agencies Industry Profile

Companies in this industry create advertising material and place it across media such as television, the internet (mobile and desktop), newspapers, magazines, radio, and outdoor displays. Major US advertising agencies include units of Interpublic and Omnicom; leading companies based outside the US include Dentsu and Hakuhodo DY Holdings (both based in Japan), and WPP (UK).

Worldwide spending on advertising -- including purchase of media time and space as well as ad agencies' services -- was estimated to be about $629 billion in 2018, according to eMarketer. Global ad spending will grow steadily at more than 5% per year through 2022, driven by digital ad spending. The top five advertising markets, ranked by 2018 spend, are the US, China, Japan, the UK, and Germany, according to Zenith.

The US advertising agencies industry includes about 13,500 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $46 billion.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand for advertising is driven by companies that do business in sectors such as personal care and household products, automotive, entertainment and media, retail, food and beverages, and technology; together these categories accounted for more than a third of global ad spend in 2017. The profitability of individual agencies depends on the ability to attract and retain creative employees and establish and maintain successful relationships with clients. The US industry is fragmented: the top 50 advertising agencies account for ...