The U.S. advertising industry experienced steady growth throughout almost the entire decade 2009 through 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to bring about a steep, sudden drop in revenues.

The professional services market is growing rapidly, according to the recently published report Professional Services Market Global Report 2017 by The Business Research Company. The market is forecast to register a 5.4% growth rate from 2016 to 2020, reaching almost $5 trillion.

You may not realize this, but the newspaper industry has long been in the advertising business, deriving the majority of its revenue from the sale of ad space in print publications. In exchange, businesses purchasing these ads were assured a broad audience of readers. For many years, it was a win-win situation for both sides.

But the digital revolution has changed that. Between 2005 and 2015, newspaper publishing revenues fell at an average annual rate of 7.0%, largely due to advertising losses. In 2015, advertising services accounted for 55% of publishing revenues, down from 71% in 2005.

Long reliant on advertisements as their primary source of revenue, internet publishers, broadcasters, and search engine providers face mounting challenges to their ad-supported business models.

In particular, the rising use of ad blockers – software programs that prevent internet ads from being displayed – by consumers is threatening to undermine the industry’s key source of revenue.

Promoting your business to anyone and everyone is not an effective marketing strategy. To efficiently drive sales and increase brand awareness, you must focus on your target audience. But who is your target audience, exactly? How do you know if your marketing will appeal to them?

Consumer research is a vital step that can help you find the answers you need. Below, three experts share questions you can ask to help identify your target audience, assess buyer behavior, and optimize your marketing strategy. Their suggestions go beyond the basics — and some of their ideas may surprise you. Read on to find out more.

Advertising in the United States generated revenues of $39.1 billion in 2013. Companies and organizations of all sizes use advertising to reach their target market and inform them of their products and promotions. However, a specific form of advertising, and a sometimes less popular form, that focuses on the brand rather than highlighting products is corporate advertising.

It can be very difficult to establish a criteria for measuring and judging brand awareness and, therefore, judging the efficacy of a marketing campaign. Unlike other measurements, such as website traffic, organic searches, or conversion, awareness is a much more intangible measurement, difficult to quantify and evaluate in a meaningful and objective way. Nevertheless, it can be done. One important tool for doing this can be market research.

Market research is imperative when it comes to any organization – new or established. You need it to understand your target market and increase sales. Highly effective organizations understand the importance of market research continually taking place. As smallbusiness.gov puts it, organizations conduct market research for numerous reasons throughout various stages of development, all of which are equally important.

There are few products that can sell themselves. Because of this, we have advertising. Advertising your product can establish your organization’s identity, promote your latest product, attract new customers, remind old customers of how great you are, and, of course, boost sales. How to advertise your product or business successfully is not a guessing game, it’s an extended market research process.

As you might have heard, the 2014 FIFA World Cup kicked off last week with Brazil’s win over Croatia. While the outcome didn't surprise many (Brazil was a heavy favorite coming into the game as the third seed), the game itself was of great importance to the rest of the world. The first whistle signified the onset of a world event that has been in the planning process since Brazil was awarded the hosting rights in 2007. Of course, like other major events, countless hours, days, months, and years of preparation have gone into this tournament, along with the $11.7 billion put toward its production, making this years’ event in Brazil the most expensive ever. And, after that $11.7 billion went toward funding the actual games, what about the other industries?