The advertising industry is the global industry of

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

and marketing companies, media services, and

advertising agencies An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

. Several large advertising agencies, including

WPP plc WPP plc is a British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London, England. It is the world's largest advertising company, as of 2023. WPP plc owns many companie ...

, Omnicom,

Publicis Groupe Publicis Groupe S.A. is a French multinational advertising and public relations company. As of 2024, the company is the largest advertising company in the world by revenue. Based in Paris, it is one of the 'Big Four' advertising commpanies, al ...

, Interpublic and

Dentsu , simply known as , stylized as dentsu, is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is the largest advertising agency in Japan and the fifth largest advertising agency network in ...

, are among the industry's largest. It is a global, multibillion-dollar business that connects manufacturers and consumers. The industry ranges from nonprofit organizations to

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

companies. The

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

industry has the capacity to provide valuable insights into the audience’s behavior and generate data that enables the business to deeply understand their target

audiences An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

. The analytical tools were developed to facilitate the evaluation, as the

sector expanded. This advancement assists the business to create a better product and measure their growth investment. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, there are more than 65,000 advertising agencies employing nearly 250,000 employees with annual revenues of $166.8 billion, as of 2014. In 2016, global advertising sales reached $493 billion. In 2017, it was estimated that digital ad sales were first to surpass the TV market.

Trade associations

Trade associations representing parts or all of the advertising industry include: * Advertising Association, a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based trade association representing

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

-based advertising agencies *

American Advertising Federation The American Advertising Federation (AAF) is the nation's oldest national advertising industry trade association. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AAF has 15 district operations, each located in and representing a different region of the na ...

, a

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

-based trade association representing U.S.-based agencies *

Association of National Advertisers Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

, a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based association representing U.S. marketing agencies and companies * International Advertising Association (IAA)

Programs

AdChoices AdChoices is a Self-regulatory organization, self-regulatory program for online advertising, online interest-based advertising that exists in the United States, Canada and across Europe. The program calls for advertising companies to establish and ...

* Google Ads * Microsoft Advertising

References

{{Authority control Industries (economics)