What a K-shaped economy could mean for the ad market — with Kate Scott-Dawkins

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, yes, it’s the holiday season and we’re just days away from Christmas. But it’s also the global adspend report season. Business leaders are getting a holistic look at how the total ad market performed in the UK and around the world, and also what to expect for next year.

WPP Media’s This Year Next Year report released on 8 December, and it has become something of an annual tradition to host its author and global president of business intelligence, Kate Scott-Dawkins, on this show before the end of the year.

She returns once again to unpack this latest report, which forecast global ad revenue to grow 8.8% year on year to $1.14tn in 2025, despite persistent macroeconomic headwinds. Next year, WPP Media is predicting further 7.1% global growth, the majority of which is being captured by a handful of tech platforms.

Scott-Dawkins offers her view on the state of the global economy, downside risks for marketers, and whether AI is likely to drive growth next year.

This is the final episode of the podcast we at The Media Leader are releasing this year. Thank you to our wonderful guests and to all you listeners out there for tuning in. We’ll be taking a few weeks off the holidays but will be back up and running in the New Year.

Highlights:

1:50: Toplines: an optimistic forecast driven by platform growth

6:12: Expect more consolidation

9:33: Downside risks: tariffs, uncertain consumer spending, K-shaped recovery

14:52: Advertising is leading the global economy

17:56: Could the commerce market be upended by AI?

20:20: Why the UK ad market is still "pretty healthy"

22:33: Things to look out for in 2026: AI search, an upper-funnel correction

Related articles:

WPP Media forecasts 8.8% global ad revenue growth in 2025 but warns of ‘K-shaped economy’ risk

‘Agencies may get squeezed everywhere’: US tariffs cause ad industry angst

Uncertainty and soft guidance as holding groups struggle for growth in Europe

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