New government freezes £540m advertising budget

The new coalition Conservative/Liberal Democrat government is to freeze its £540 million annual marketing budget.

In an announcement today, the government said “all new advertising and marketing spend” will be frozen for the current financial year, to the end of March 2011, with the exception of campaigns that are deemed “essential”.

As part of the cuts, which are expected to see the government axe ad spend by as much as 50%, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will have to save £88 million, including £27 million from the Olympics Delivery Authority, according to reports.

The spokesperson for the Cabinet Office said the government hopes to achieve a reduction of marketing and advertising spend “in the region of 50%” from government departments and other agencies.

The central office of information (COI) is currently the UK’s largest advertiser, spending more than £222 million on traditional ads in 2009 alone (according to Nielsen).  However, the spokesperson said the COI would retain its position as an important body, despite the cuts.