Total ad spending in France and Germany took a big hit in 2020, as a result of the pandemic. But digital advertising bucked that trend and will lead a strong double-digit recovery in ad outlays during 2021.

In France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK—Western Europe’s five leading markets—Google and Meta will continue to garner over two-thirds of digital ad spending. Google’s net ad revenues in those markets will increase 11.6% this year, driven by high engagement with search and YouTube. Meta ad revenues in the region will rise 14.1% in 2022.

Also among the worst performers this year will be the Latin American markets of Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Peru and the European markets of France, Italy, and Spain, with double-digit declines expected in their media ad spending growth.

Italy saw a 36% increase, and Japan was up 23%. Additionally, the pandemic contributed to increases in communication on Snapchat. Spiegel said communication with friends was up more than 30% in the last week of March vs. the last week of January—and in some markets there was an increase of more than 50%. Spiegel also noted that chat, calling and games were highlights for group engagement.

In Italy, Facebook has seen traffic increase by 70%, with group calling increasing by 1000%, Facebook Live and Instagram Live up 100% and messaging up 50%. None of those features can be monetized easily. More importantly many advertisers don’t have the money now to buy the additional impressions, which has depressed CPMs.