According to Reuters, ZenithOptimedia has said that ad spending in the Middle East and Africa (MENA) is set to decline. This is due to political unrest, as ad spend is set to drop by 12.1% this year. Accordingly, ZenithOptimedia reduced its global forecast of advertising this year, saying that ad spend will grow 4.1% to $471bn, from the 4.2% previously predicted.

According to ZenithOptimedia’s recent forecast, both the Egyptian revolution and the Japanese earthquake are expected to strip global advertising almost $2.5 billion. The company pointed out that there were immediate consequences for TV advertising in these markets, with Egypt being the largest ad market to be caught up in the Middle Eastern uprisings, and running almost no advertising during that period.

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that advertising spending will grow faster this year than expected worldwide, according to ZenithOptimedia. Internet advertising will grow 13.5 per cent this year, and 15.5 per cent in 2012. ZenithOptimedia said it now expects global ad spending to grow 4.8 per cent this year to US$449.49 billion. That's up from its prior estimate of 3.5 per cent growth.

Advertising spend level is predicted to plunge by around 10% worldwide this year, according to Glenn Hansen, CEO and Presiden of BPA Worldwide, who spoke at the FIPP World Magazine Marketplace event recently held in Dubai, highlighting the significance of audited media for market development.