Recession In UK Marketing Finally Comes To An End
The worst advertising downturn in living memory has finally come to an end and marketing spend is predicted to increase by the largest margin ever recorded, according to new research from the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
The latest Marketing Trends survey of more than 100 leading media professionals suggests that confidence amongst British marketers has reached unprecedented levels thanks to improving the economic climate.
Marketers are planning on sales growth of more than 9% over the coming year and all sectors of the economy are expected to bounce back after a prolonged period of negativity following the dotcom crash of late 2000.
Firms in Northern Ireland and the East Midlands are the most optimistic, forecasting sales growth of 20% and 13.9% respectively. Meanwhile, companies in the West Midlands and East Anglia are the least up-beat, expecting growth of just 4.3% and 3.9%.
The study echoes the finding of the latest quarterly Bellwether report from the IPA, which shows that current budgets were revised up in the first three months of 2004 following higher than expected sales revenues and an improvement in profits (see Recovery Slowly Gathers Pace For UK Advertisers).
WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell also recently sounded an uncharacteristically optimistic note on the prospect of a global economic recovery, claiming that the outlook for advertisers is ‘good’ and ‘getting even better’ (see Sorrell Positive On Global Advertising Recovery).Commenting on the findings of the CIM survey, Douglas McWilliams, chief executive of the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said: “Investment in marketing lubricates the economy and makes it more flexible, as well as creating the opportunities for long-term growth through the development. The latest survey results are therefore especially encouraging as a sign that the UK economy is returning to rude good health.”
The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s confidence index now stands at 98.3, which is the third highest level recorded. The industry body claims that there is now hard evidence to suggest that this optimism is more than just talk, as marketers put their money where their mouth is and marketing spend increases.
This latest survey adds weight to the latest figures from the Advertising Association, which today announced that the advertising market in the UK continues on the road to recovery with expenditure rising by 4.8% in the first quarter of 2004. A consensus of recent forecasts compiled by MediaTel INSIGHT suggests that UK advertising expenditure will increase by 3.9% in 2004 and by 4.9% in 2005 (see UK Adspend Increases By 4.8% In First Quarter Of 2004).
Chartered Institute Of Marketing: 01628 427 500 www.cim.co.uk
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