Our revised estimates for total ad spending in Canada this year show a big decline, mirroring what’s expected overall for the Canadian economy. Digital will hold its level after years of double-digit growth.

From the growth of TikTok and of social commerce to the challenges of brand safety and the cookieless future, 2021 will be another year of big stories for social media.

In China, out-of-home (OOH) was among the hardest-hit ad formats last year. Though spending on outdoor ads will start returning to normal this year, where and how brands deploy them may be anything but ordinary in a post-pandemic China.

A direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy wasn’t top-of-mind when soda brand Olipop launched in 2017. In fact, during its first year of business, the brand didn’t even have a website—primarily relying on retail brick-and-mortar partnerships to drive sales. But last year, everything changed.

More than a third of adult consumers in Canada are podcast listeners, a growing and lucrative audience for brand engagement.

Total ad spending in France and Germany will fall this year, as a result of the pandemic. Traditional media will suffer most; digital ad spend will rise marginally, to €4.93 billion ($5.51 billion) in France and €7.38 billion ($8.27 billion) in Germany.