The Guardian posted an article this week on the newest Bellwether report, which is indicating signs of recovery in the advertising industry. The UK advertising industry, which has seen companies slashing their budgets during the last two and a half years now, is starting to pick back up with more companies growing their ad budgets than those which are not.
According to the survey, 21% of companies in the UK reported an increase in their advertising budgets in the first quarter of 2010, while 16% of companies suffered cutbacks. The last time that a higher percentage of companies reported an increase in their budgets was back in the third quarter of 2007. The growth is welcomed by many, such as Rory Sutherland, president of Practitioners in Advertising, the publisher of the Bellwether report, who says "it is good to see that businesses are now increasing their investment in marketing as a route to growth, a welcome change in sentiment compared to this time last year."
The good news, however, was not universal. The types of marketing that were previously down and recently have gotten a boost include TV, press and radio. Internet marketing has been up for three quarters and continues to grow, but sales promotion and direct marketing were unchanged, while PR and events continued their downward trend. Although there are reasons to be pleased, "this should not be seen as a return to the good old days," remarked Andy Viner, head of media for BDO LLP, he continues, "spend on the marketing mix is changing."
The growth in ad spend is probably a result of the renewed confidence in the economic stability of UK businesses. 42% of UK marketing executives said they had more optimism in the first quarter of 2010 than the last quarter of 2009. "The last three quarters saw an increase in optimism without an increase in spending," continued Viner. "These results are a clear sign that renewed business confidence is translating into real budget increases and tangible economic recovery."
via The Guardian
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