Canada’s Ad Market Is Growing 9%—Here’s What’s Driving It| E33

Canada’s advertising market grew 9% year over year in the first half, beating the roughly 6% global average. So what’s driving the outperformance? In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly Sweeney and Sean Wright break down Guideline’s latest Canadian advertising data and look at the media types and categories doing the most to support growth. One of the biggest standouts is podcast advertising. While podcast spend is roughly flat globally in Guideline’s data, Canada is up 25%, building on already healthy growth and increased investment in Canadian shows and talent. Social is another bright spot, growing 21% in Canada compared with about 14% globally. Much of that outperformance is tied to the automotive category, which remains under pressure overall but is showing renewed strength in social media. Travel tells a different story. Globally, travel advertising remains challenged by affordability and cost pressures. But Canadian hotels and resorts are up roughly 32%, helped by stronger domestic travel and interest in destinations such as Toronto and Montreal. Kelly and Sean also look at the second half. While some of the first-half lift came from major sports events and easier year-over-year comparisons, Guideline expects Canada to remain in relatively healthy territory, with full-year growth projected around 7% to 8%. Topics covered: Canada advertising growth H1 ad spend trends Canada vs. global ad market Podcast advertising Social media advertising Automotive advertising Hotels and resorts Canadian tourism Domestic travel Social media restrictions Canada advertising forecast Media spending trends Advertising fundamentals Subscribe to Media Monitor for weekly analysis of media, advertising, data, and market trends.