Publicis chief forecasts increase in ad spend

Publicis’ chairman and chief executive Maurice Levy predicts an upturn in advertising spend in the second half of 2009.

Speaking at Publicis’ annual general meeting yesterday, Levy said the ad spend decline is almost “over” and the market should pick up in the second half of the year, after a difficult Q2.

“The fall of advertising expenditures should be over. As we have already said, the second quarter of 2009 will be the toughest quarter, with an improvement coming in the second half of the year,” he said.

However, Publicis, home to ZenithOptimedia, Starcom MediaVest and Saatchi & Saatchi, warned that trading in the second quarter of the year would be worse than the first, according to reports.

Levy also forecast an 8% global ad spend downturn this year, which is more than the 6.9% ZenithOptimedia predicted two months ago.

However, Publicis’ chief remained confident that the group would be able to gain market share in the coming six months to the end of the year, despite its multimillion dollar exposure following the collapse of General Motors in the US.

Levy said: “In this environment, we are confident we will outpace the sector’s average in terms of revenue, thanks to our position in digital and emerging markets.

“Publicis Groupe will continue its strict cost control policy to record the best operating margin in the sector.”