Global advertising spending is forecast to grow 6.4 percent in 2018 to $551 billion, according to MAGNA Global. It is the strongest growth rate the media forecast and strategy agency has registered since 2010. MAGNA primarily attributes the 2018 increase over last year’s growth rate (4.5 percent) to cyclical events like the U.S. mid-term elections, the FIFA World Cup and the Winter Olympics.

“Global advertising spending is going to expand by the strongest growth rate since 2010 this year, as several of the largest markets—including the U.S., Russia and China—experience robust economic growth,” says Vincent Létang, EVP, global market intelligence at MAGNA and author of the report. “Many consumer packaged goods and automotive brands are freezing or cutting ad expenditures, which hurts the revenues of traditional media types, while digital media, used by millions of small and local advertisers, seems to be immune from slow-down so far. Linear television will enjoy modest growth in most markets, however, as cyclical events bring incremental budgets and strong pricing (CPM inflation), offsetting shrinking volume (ratings decline).”

Digital advertising is forecast to grow 15.6 percent in 2018 to $250 billion, or 45 percent of global advertising spending. Mobile ads accounted for half of digital spending in 2017 and are expected to increase to 62 percent this year. Digital advertising is projected to account for half of global ad spending by 2020—it reaches that milestone this year in the U.S. and is already at 60 percent in certain markets, such as the U.K. and Sweden.

Offline ad sales—television, print, broadcast radio and out-of-home—are expected to slip 0.2 percent to $300 billion. While television advertising revenues are expected to grow three percent this year to $185 billion, MAGNA notes that without 2018’s cyclical events, the segment’s growth rate would be nearly flat globally at 0.4 percent, and down 1.4 percent in the U.S.

2018’s global growth rate is driven by strength in certain markets—U.S., 6.4 percent; China, 10 percent; Russia, 12 percent; and India, 12.5 percent—and recovering economies—Latin America, 10 percent, and the Middle East, nine percent. Western Europe lags behind at 4.1 percent, which MAGNA blames on low economic growth and political uncertainty.

For more details from MAGNA Global’s findings, click here.