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LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - World advertising expenditurewill grow by 3.9 percent in 2013 and by 5 percent in 2014,driven by internet advertising as the global economystrengthens, a report by a media agency said on Monday.
ZenithOptimedia, the forecasting unit of Publicis Groupe, the world's third-biggest advertising group by salesafter WPP and Omnicom, predicted the globaladvertising market would be worth $518 billion by the end ofthis year.
Its growth forecast for 2013 was down from its original 4.1percent estimate, which it attributed to tough comparatives froma better-than-expected 2012, when the market grew 3.5 percent.
"As the global economy strengthens, more opportunities willopen up for companies to expand their businesses," said SteveKing, global chief executive officer for ZenithOptimedia Group.
But in Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain,advertising markets have contracted even more sharply than theireconomies, as local advertisers have cut back to reduce lossesand preserve cash, and international companies have transferredtheir budgets to stronger locations.
The peripheral euro zone market is predicted to shrink 7percent in 2013, before stabilising in 2014 and growing 3percent in 2015, the forecast said. Geographically, the fastestgrowth will come from eastern Europe, central Asia and LatinAmerica, it said.
Online advertising spending will overtake print in 2015, asnewspapers and magazines continue to shrink at an average ofbetween 1 and 2 percent a year, ZenithOptimedia said.
Online video and social media advertising are growing atabout 30 percent per year, the forecast said.
