Despite expectations of the beginning of a recovery in advertising market conditions in the second half of the year, the outlook remains decidedly unclear, according to the Financial Times.
The paper says that whilst a number of companies at the Mid-Year Media Review in the US have begun to talk about an improvement in the degree of ad decline, this really only represents the bottom of the recession, rather than any sustained and visible recovery.
Next week Zenith Optimedia releases its latest set of advertising forecasts, in which it is expected to predict a worldwide decline of 0.5% for 2002. The US is set to be down 1.2%, according to the FT.
Advertising network Interpublic Group has already said that revenues remain substantially down and that there is no obvious end to the decline (see Interpublic Says Ad Revenues Remain Down, Visibility Poor). Conversely, a number of US newspaper groups told the Review conference that an upturn has arrived.
Certainly, the stronger than expected TV upfronts in the US indicate an improving climate, although commentators note that this is more due to declining audiences and the accompanying rise in costs per thousand, than it is to do with a genuinely strengthening market.
