Advertising Industry Statistics

Trends and Insights Business & Marketing

While digital channels keep growing, traditional advertising - TV, radio, print, out-of-home, and direct mail - remains strong and valuable. These channels still attract major investment and connect with broad audiences. Traditional advertising isn’t fading; it’s adapting alongside new consumer habits and digital strategies, making it essential to stay updated on how these channels perform.

Keep in mind, numbers can vary between sources, but the main point is clear: traditional advertising still accounts for a significant share of ad spend, proves its value, and is worth close attention as it continues to evolve.

Key Takeaways

U.S. Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising revenue reached a record $9.13 billion in 2024, a 4.5% increase from 2023.
Digital OOH (DOOH) accounted for 34% of total OOH revenue in the U.S. in 2024.
U.S. radio's digital revenue hit $2.1 billion in 2024, accounting for nearly 25% of the average radio station's total income.
U.S. radio's digital revenue is projected to see a 9.7% increase in 2025.
Approximately 93% of U.S. adults tuned into AM/FM radio weekly in 2023.
Direct mail marketing spending in the U.S. was approximately $39.36 billion in 2023.
Postcards had an average response rate of 5.7% for house lists in U.S. direct mail campaigns in 2023.
As of November 2023, more than 18.1% of U.S. TV households had at least one TV set enabled to receive free, over-the-air (OTA) broadcast programming.
The U.S. magazine audience (print + digital) reached 223.6 million Americans in 2023.
Out-of-home advertising expenditure in the U.S. was $8.7 billion in 2023.
84% of marketers reported conversion rates at least 5% higher from direct mail than any other channel in 2023.
The U.S. radio advertising market was valued at $13.6 billion in 2023.
Global advertising spending is projected to reach $1.1 trillion by the end of 2025.

Overall Traditional Advertising Market Landscape & Trajectory

This section provides an overview of total advertising expenditure on traditional media channels in the United States. It includes available data on market size and year-over-year changes. These figures offer a foundational understanding of the traditional ad industry's scale and its ongoing evolution.

Offline marketing expenditures in the U.S. reached $191.0 billion in 2024, rebounding from $181.4 billion in 2023.

U.S. OOH Ad Spending: Out-of-home advertising expenditure in the U.S. was $8.7 billion in 2023.
Direct mail marketing spending in the US was approximately $39.36 billion in 2023.
The U.S. radio advertising market was valued at $13.6 billion in 2023.
Global advertising spending was $601.84 billion in 2023.
Worldwide advertising (2025): Expected to cross the $1 trillion mark. GroupM projects global ad revenue will reach about $1.1 trillion in 2025 (≈+6.8% year-on-year). (Similarly, WARC forecasts ~10.7% growth to ~$1.08T). Digital channels will make up the lion’s share.
TV ad spending globally had fallen below 20% of total ad spend by 2024.

Television Advertising: Reach, Revenue, and Viewer Trends (U.S.)

Television remains a significant component of traditional advertising, known for its broad reach and impact on brand building. This section covers available U.S. statistics related to linear TV, average viewership, and audience reach.

Reach & Households

The U.S. had 125 million TV households for the 2023-2024 period, up 1% from the previous year.
As of November 2023, more than 18.1% of U.S. TV households had at least one TV set enabled to receive free, over-the-air (OTA) broadcast programming.

Approximately 92% of U.S. TV households watched some form of linear (traditional) programming between October 2022 and October 2023.

Ad Revenue/Spend

U.S. local TV (2025): Local TV station ad revenue is forecast at ~$18.3 billion (all platforms). This exceeds 2024’s $16.8B, driven by growth in OTA broadcast (+$0.4B) and expanding digital/CTV ads.
Linear TV ad spend in the U.S. saw a strong increase of 8.9% in 2024 to $58.9 billion.

Viewer Trends & Shifts

In July 2023, total traditional TV usage (broadcast and pay TV) dropped below 50% of total TV time for the first time in the U.S.
Broadcast viewership share was 20% of all TV viewership in the U.S. in July 2023.
Pay-TV viewership share was 29.6% of all TV viewership in the U.S. in July 2023.
Year-over-year, pay-TV viewership was down 12.5% in July 2023, while broadcast viewership was down 5.4% in the U.S.

Radio & Audio Advertising: Listenership, Spend, and Impact (U.S.)

This section focuses on traditional broadcast radio in the U.S., examining its advertising revenue, weekly and daily listenership figures, and the growth of its digital components.

Market Size/Revenue

The U.S. radio advertising market was valued at $13.6 billion in 2023.
U.S. local radio (2025): Projected at ~$12.3 billion (over-the-air + digital), roughly flat versus 2024. According to BIA/RAB, local radio ad sales are steady at ≈$12.3B.
Globally, the radio advertising market value for 2024 was stated as $28.6 billion in a 2024 report, and is expected to decrease to $27.95 billion by 2029.

Listenership/Reach

U.S. AM/FM Radio Weekly Reach (Adults 18+): 82% of U.S. adults aged 18+ were reached by AM/FM radio each week in Q3 2023.
Approximately 93% of U.S. adults tuned into AM/FM radio weekly in 2023.
73% of U.S. adults reported using AM/FM radio as an in-car audio source.

Digital Transformation & Adaptation

Radio's digital revenue in the U.S. reached $2.1 billion in 2024.
Radio's digital revenue accounted for nearly 25% of the average U.S. radio station's total income in 2024.
A 9.7% increase in U.S. radio's digital revenue is projected for 2025.
82% of U.S. radio stations reported working to convert digital-only buyers into radio clients in 2024.

Print Advertising (Newspapers & Magazines): Circulation, Readership (U.S.)

This section details statistics for U.S. newspaper and magazine advertising, including circulation figures and readership demographics.

The U.S. magazine audience reached 223.6 million Americans in 2023 (print + digital editions).
87% of U.S. adults reported having read a magazine in the last 6 months as of early 2024 (referring to 2023 data).
Print and digital newspapers reached nearly half of all U.S. adults (116 million or 44%) weekly in 2023.
45% of adult men in the U.S. engaged with news media weekly, and 43% of adult women did so in 2023.
Global Print Newspapers and Magazines Market size was valued at USD 126.5 billion in 2023.
Global print media: Market analysts project the total print media market will grow to about $359.5 billion in 2025 (from $348.3B in 2024, +3.2% CAGR).
Digital circulation among the top 50 U.S. magazines grew 16% in the latter half of 2024.
AARP The Magazine had the highest total circulation in the U.S. with 22.2M for July-December 2024.
US Weekly had the highest digital circulation among U.S. magazines with 1.7 million per issue in the latter half of 2024.

Out-of-Home (OOH) Advertising: Visibility, Formats, and Growth Areas (including DOOH) (U.S.)

Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising encompasses billboards, transit ads, street furniture, and place-based media. This section looks at total U.S. OOH ad spend, growth rates, and revenue by format.

U.S. OOH revenue (2024): $9.1 billion (first-ever >$9B). Digital OOH (DOOH) accounted for ~34% of that spend in 2024 (DOOH grew +7.5%). OOH is forecast to continue growing into 2025.
U.S. OOH ad spend reached $9.13 billion in 2024, representing a significant 4.5% growth from the previous year.

Transit media accounted for 16.8% of total U.S. OOH revenue in 2024.
Place-based media represented 6.1% of total U.S. OOH revenue in 2024.
Street furniture comprised 5.1% of total U.S. OOH revenue in 2024.
Billboards continued to be the largest OOH advertising format, contributing 72% (approximately $6.57 billion) to the total OOH revenue in 2024.
“Local Services & Amusements" led as the top OOH spending category in 2024, investing approximately $2.08 billion (27.0% of total top 10 spend) and showing a 9.6% growth compared to 2023.
The OOH advertising market is projected to maintain positive momentum, with an anticipated average annual growth rate of 4.5% for ad sales between 2025 and 2029.
In 2024, OOH advertising represented a 2.4% share of the total U.S. media market, highlighting its specific niche and contribution.
The "Local Services & Amusements" category accounted for over 30% of total OOH spend in multiple quarters of 2024 in the U.S.
The Retail category showed consistent double-digit growth in OOH spend in 2024, including a 17.7% YoY spike in Q3.
The Government & Politics OOH spending category in the U.S. was up 27.6% in Q4 2024.
U.S. OOH advertising revenue reached $2.04 billion in Q3 2024, a 4.3% increase compared to Q3 2023.
The Global Out Of Home Advertising Market is projected to reach USD 67.96 Billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 9.7% (2025-2032).
Traditional OOH (non-digital) marketing spend in the U.S. grew by 2.3% year-over-year in 2023 to $7.5 billion.
Top 5 U.S. OOH Advertisers in 2024 by Spend

Direct Mail Advertising: Response Rates, ROI, and Personalization Trends (U.S.)

This section delves into the effectiveness and ongoing trends in U.S. direct mail marketing, including ad spend, response rates, ROI, mail volume, and consumer interaction.

Direct mail marketing spending in the U.S. was approximately $39.36 billion in 2023.
Postcards had an average response rate of 5.7% for house lists
The USPS delivered 127.3 billion pieces of mail (including direct mail) in 2022.
9 out of 10 consumers engage with promotional mail.
84% of marketers reported conversion rates at least 5% higher from direct mail than any other channel in 2023.
84% of marketers ranked direct mail as their top-performing channel for ROI in 2024
72% of consumers read or look at ads in their mail regularly, according to 2024 survey data.
91% of Gen Z (born 1997 to 2012) say they've made a purchase after receiving direct mail, as of 2023.
84% of marketers were using direct mail automation in 2023.
36% of marketers cited enhanced targeting ability as a core driver for increasing direct mail spend over the next year.

Effectiveness & ROI of Traditional Channels: Comparative Insights

This section provides data points that compare the return on investment (ROI), reach, recall, or other effectiveness metrics across different traditional advertising channels.

84% of marketers ranked direct mail as their top-performing channel for ROI in 2024 (based on surveys/data gathered reflecting recent performance ending in or by 2024).
Direct mail response rates are reported to be 5–9 times higher than email, paid search, or social media(benchmark data often pre-2023 but cited in 2024 as an ongoing recognized comparison).
Including direct mail in the marketing mix leads to a 12% ROI lift (benchmark data often pre-2023, cited in 2024 as relevant).
Brand recall is reportedly 70% higher when consumers see direct mail versus digital ads (benchmark data often pre-2023, cited in 2024 as relevant).
Radio ads deliver substantial 'performance bounce,' offering significant lifts in sales volume and ROI, particularly when they form a more substantial part of the media mix.
The OAAA's Benchmarketing OOH Media Effectiveness ROI Analysis (2023) highlighted that OOH advertising can substantially increase Revenue Return on Ad Sales (RROAS).
The OAAA study (2023) indicated that many advertising strategies underutilize OOH, and adjusting the media mix to include more OOH can lead to more efficient overall campaign performance.
OOH ad effectiveness: 76% of consumers took action after seeing an OOH ad, with 73% preferring DOOH formats. In fact, OAAA reports ~75% of people who saw an OOH ad then used their mobile device – nearly 50% searched for more info and ~40% made an online purchase, underscoring OOH’s impact.
Nearly 8 in 10 magazine readers who see an ad in their magazine take action as a result.

Consumer Trust and Perception of Traditional Advertising (U.S.)

This area examines how U.S. audiences perceive and trust various forms of traditional advertising.

71% of consumers say physical mail makes them feel more valued (surveyed in recent years, reported 2024).
82% of Millennials view print ads as more trustworthy than digital ads (survey data cited 2024, likely referring to pre-2023 survey results for established sentiment).
Only 23% of consumers say they receive too much mail, compared to 46% for email, as of 2024.
59% of consumers are more concerned about privacy in digital ads than direct mail, as of 2024.
Listeners often develop a personal connection with radio hosts, adding an element of trust to the advertisements broadcast.

Challenges and Future Outlook for Traditional Advertising (U.S.)

This final section discusses key challenges faced by the traditional advertising industry in the U.S., alongside opportunities and innovations.

Traditional TV usage (broadcast and pay TV) dropped below 50% of total TV time in the U.S. for the first time in July 2023, indicating a significant shift in viewing habits.
Radio faces challenges from streaming music/podcasting alternatives and reduced commuting hours.
The rapid advancement of digital technology and the corresponding shift in consumer preferences from print to digital formats represent a considerable challenge for the newspapers and magazines market.
Available inventory on TV and CTV is expected to fall by 24% in the next four years (2025-2028)
Digital OOH (DOOH) made up 34% of the total OOH share in the U.S. in 2024, highlighting technology integration as a growth driver.
Radio's digital revenue hit $2.1 billion in 2024 (nearly 25% of station income) and is projected to grow 9.7% in 2025, showing adaptation.
82% of U.S. radio stations reported working to convert digital-only buyers into radio clients in 2024, moving towards integrated sales approaches.
The OAAA's Benchmarketing study (2023) indicates that reevaluating budget allocations to include more OOH can benefit advertisers by increasing RROAS and improving overall campaign performance.

Sources

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