Dentsu: Global Ad Spend to Cross $1 Trillion in 2026, India Leads Algorithmic Growth

Global advertising is approaching a historic milestone. According to the dentsu Global Ad Spend Forecasts (December 2025), worldwide advertising expenditure is expected to grow by $50 billion, pushing total spend beyond $1 trillion for the first time in 2026. The surge will be fuelled by major global media events including the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup calendar, and the U.S. mid-term elections  but more importantly by structural shifts reshaping how marketing works.

Dentsu notes that the trillion-dollar crossing is being driven by four powerful engines of expansion: accelerating digital adoption, rapid growth of retail media networks, monetisation of live sports and entertainment rights, and the increasing use of AI-powered marketing platforms enabling precision planning, predictive modelling and outcome-led optimisation. Together, these forces are defining what the report calls the “Algorithmic Era”  a marketplace where algorithms increasingly dictate what consumers see, discover, consider and ultimately purchase.

Global advertising growth of 5.1% in 2026 is expected to comfortably outpace projected global GDP growth of 3.1%, underlining how marketing is shifting from responding to consumer demand to actively shaping it. According to the forecast, more than 76% of global ad spend will be algorithm-driven by 2026, reflecting the deepening integration of artificial intelligence across media planning, buying and performance measurement systems.At the heart of this transformation sits India, now positioned as one of the most dynamic growth engines of the global advertising economy. Dentsu projects India’s ad spend will rise from $14 billion in 2025 to $15.2 billion (approximately Rs 1.25 lakh crore) in 2026, before accelerating to $18.4 billion by 2028. The growth rate is equally striking  with year-on-year expansion expected to climb from 7.8% in 2025 to 10.3% by 2028, signalling the increasing maturity of India’s digital-first advertising ecosystem.

The report arrives at a critical juncture for the industry, as global holding companies recalibrate amid consolidation and economic pressure. While the recent Omnicom–IPG merger reflects moves to scale operations and streamline capabilities, reports also suggest dentsu is exploring the sale of select international assets, including India, as part of wider cost-efficiency efforts. Despite this backdrop, the forecasts offer reassurance to marketers, indicating that 2026 remains firmly on a growth trajectory for the advertising business globally. Commenting on the findings, Will Swayne, President Media & Integrated Solutions, dentsu Global Practice, said:
“In the Algorithmic Era, the brands that win will be the ones that understand how discovery and decision-making are shaped by algorithms and use media as a strategic engine to earn attention and build long-term advantage. 2026 rewards the marketers who innovate with intent, design for outcomes and meet people in the moments that matter.”

Beyond topline numbers, the report positions the trillion-dollar mark as a symbolic turning point rather than a destination. An industry expert noted that advertising spend is now increasingly detached from pure GDP correlation and instead driven by platform ecosystems, commerce integration and algorithmic discovery pathways. “The trillion-dollar headline is not the conclusion  it’s the overture,” the expert said, adding that India is not merely following global trends but actively shaping the next phase of advertising growth.

What’s Fueling India’s Momentum

Dentsu attributes India’s rapid progress to several converging factors:

• Expansion of retail media networks driven by ecommerce and omnichannel commerce platforms.
• Rising digital penetration into Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets, unlocking new audiences at scale.
• Explosive growth of vernacular and local-language content consumption across mobile platforms.
• A decisive transition toward attention-based advertising models, prioritising engagement and outcomes over passive reach.

As a result, India is evolving from a support market in global brand strategies into an independent high-growth theatreinfluencing campaign design and execution globally.

APAC’s Growing Power

While North America remains the world’s largest advertising market by total spend, dentsu highlights the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region as the fastest-growing bloc globally. Growth is being driven by rising mobile usage, the proliferation of creator-commerce ecosystems, and accelerating adoption of retail media. Budgets are shifting decisively away from legacy channels toward measurable, data-rich digital environments.Within this transformation, India stands at the forefront of APAC’s surge, outpacing major peers including Indonesia, South Korea and Australia, and emerging as the region’s most consequential advertising market over the next three years.

An Industry Being Rewired

The report underscores that categories failing to integrate digital and commerce-linked models risk stagnation, while sectors aligned with wellness, functionality and mobile-first consumption are set to command disproportionate gains. Campaigns centred solely on visibility are losing ground to strategies focused on real-time engagement, conversion and behavioural impact.In what dentsu describes as a fundamental rewiring of the industry, advertising is shifting from traditional reach-based buying models to attention-based valuation, where engagement is monetised dynamically and directly tied to business outcomes.

Markets capable of thriving in this new model, the report argues, will define the next era of global marketing. And with its massive mobile audience, fast-growing creator economy, and emerging outcome-measurement infrastructure, India is already demonstrating the core traits of a global advertising powerhouse  a role set to deepen as consolidation and algorithmic marketing reshape the world’s media landscape.