Despite the absence of big-ticket events like the Olympics and the US presidential election, spending on advertising will grow by 4.5% in 2013, up from 3.8% the year before, according to ZenithOptimedia, an ad agency. Spending in Latin America will rise by a robust 10%.
Internet advertising will grow by 15%, more than three times as fast as any other category, and comprise a fifth of all spending. Advertisers are particularly keen on social-media sites, aiming to become “friends” with potential customers; spending on this category will grow by 31%.

In absolute terms, the amount spent for online ads will surpass that for (offline) newspapers for the first time. Print-media ads will fall for a third consecutive year. As a result, a growing number of media outlets will announce that revenues from subscriptions exceed sales from advertising. Even so, the steady loss of high-margin print ads will ensure that the industry’s endless restructuring grinds on.