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In news hitting the blogosphere this week is a report out by ZenithOptimedia. ZenithOptimedia is forecasting a “mild” recovery worldwide in 2010 with growth of 1.6 percent. North America will shrink 2.4 percent after declining 10.3 percent in 2009. Western Europe will have 0.2 percent growth after a decline of 9.2 percent this year.

Of the 79 markets covered by ZenithOptimedia, 25 are registering increases, including China and India. It predicted China will climb 5.4 percent this year, overtaking the U.K. as the world’s fourth-largest ad market. India will grow 7.7 percent, overtaking Norway, Mexico and the Net herlands to be the 14th largest, it said.

Internet advertising is the only segment of the industry expected to gain in 2009, rising an estimated 10.1 percent worldwide and beating an earlier prediction of 8.6 percent, ZenithOptimedia said. Internet ads may account for 15.1 percent of all ad spending by 2011, it said.

Newspaper advertising will shrink 14.7 percent this year and will then continue to decline. Magazine ads this year will drop 16.7 percent, ZenithOptimedia said.

So like any forecast, we need to wait until we can look back and evaluate the accuracy of this prediction. However, this report is not unlike a growing number of others being published suggesting the ad market is due to recover. I, for one looks forward to a strong rebound but think when it does the nature and pattens of digital marketing will be different… I will save these thoughts for another post.