Week in Review: eMarketer Updates Global Digital Ad Spend Forecast amid COVID-19 Outbreak; Digital Usage Increases as More People Work and Study from Home

This week, we revised our global digital ad spend forecast in the wake of COVID-19 and discussed how digital adoption has made it possible for people to work, study and entertain themselves from home. March 15, 2020 [Week in Review: eMarketer Updates Global Digital Ad Spend Forecast amid COVID-19 Outbreak; Digital Usage Increases as More People Work and Study from Home]( There are still many uncertainties regarding how fast and far COVID-19 will spread worldwide, and health officials in most countries without severe outbreaks are simply urging consumers to be cautious. We have taken the same approach in updating our global ad spending forecasts. In 2020, we expect total media ad spending worldwide will reach $691.7 billion, up by 7.0% from 2019. That’s a decrease from our previous forecast when we expected worldwide ad spending to rise by 7.4% to $712.02 billion this year. Note that our forecast was completed on March 6, 2020, before US President Donald Trump announced a 30-day ban on the entry of most Europeans into the US, which temporarily halted the stock market. Also note that the projections represent a full-year outlook. Our downward revision is primarily due to one country: China, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak. The first case was discovered there in late December 2019, so we have had more time to track the virus’s impact on the country’s ad market. [Read the full article.]( [Study: Combining Data Across Technologies and Partners Still a Challenge]( In a recent Acxiom survey across eight industries, 91% of businesses agreed that partners are imperative to getting the most out of first-, second- and third-party data. But more than half also admit that combining this data for more relevant marketing is difficult. [Read this article, contributed and sponsored by Acxiom.]( [The Weekly Listen: COVID-19's Effect, Voice Ads and How Online Outrage Impacts Brands]( eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch and vice president of content studio Paul Verna discuss some ways COVID-19 has impacted people's lives, what voice ads sound like, foldable phones, if online outrage impacts a brand, Quibi's nonskippable ads, how many Americans have looked through their partner's phone and more. [Listen in.]( [chart-image]( [US Spotify Listeners Surpassed Pandora Listeners in 2019, Sooner than Expected]( Pandora is no longer the most popular music streaming service in the US, with Spotify taking the No. 1 spot in 2019. According to eMarketer’s latest forecast on digital music listeners, the number of Spotify listeners surpassed those of Pandora two years sooner than predicted in our March 2019 forecast. [Read the article.]( [chart-image]( [Podcast: How Will the Coronavirus Change Consumer Behavior?](=/VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0) eMarketer research analyst Man-Chung Cheung, senior researcher Jeane Han and principal analyst Nicole Perrin discuss how the newest strain of the coronavirus will change consumers' behavior. How will reducing contact effect businesses? Will media consumption habits change? And what have been some potential innovations coming out of this global situation? [Listen in.](=/VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0) [chart-image](=/VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0) [Is Part of Your Audience in a Media Bubble?]( With a presidential election and expected record spending on voter persuasion in 2020, there’s no doubt political polarization will be a prominent feature of US culture this year. According to two recent pieces of research, this polarization extends to digital media habits, meaning marketers who know their audience spans the political spectrum will have their work cut out for them. [Read the article.]( [chart-image]( [Podcast: Working and Studying from Home Shines a Light on Digital Usage](/VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0) eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver and senior forecasting analyst Oscar Orozco discuss how digital adoption has made it possible—or not—for people to work, study and entertain themselves from home during the COVID-19 outbreak. Who doesn't use the internet? Do people spend more time watching Netflix or YouTube? And which platforms get the most social media attention? They then talk about Spotify Kids, faster same-day delivery and Sling TV losing customers. [Listen in.](/VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0) [chart-image](/VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0) ©2020 eMarketer, Inc. 11 Times Square, New York, NY 10036 eMarketer Week in Review is published by eMarketer, Inc. [Unsubscribe](/VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0) | [Change email address](/VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0) | [Advertise](=/VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0) [Select "Research Submissions"](=/VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0) for potential inclusion in the eMarketer Daily. If you cannot view the HTML newsletter, please [read it in your browser here](. /VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0 =/VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0 =/VAL4002Dxo0G300SpL9QDM0