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Agencies More Optimistic On US Media Recovery Than Advertisers, Finds Myers

Agencies More Optimistic On US Media Recovery Than Advertisers, Finds Myers

Media and advertising agencies are more optimistic on the outlook for a US media market recovery than are the advertisers themselves, according to the results of a survey conducted by Jack Myers Report.

The quarterly Advertising Confidence Index research questions chief executives of client companies (advertisers), media planning/buying agencies and ad agencies, asking about their spending plans for the near future and their forecasts for the state of the marketplace.

A recovery from the current media downturn is expected by the end of 2002 by 42.6% of agency respondents, but just 26.7% clients. If not by the end of the year, then by early 2003, say 27.9% of agency execs, but just 22.2% of clients. However, slightly contradictorily, over a quarter of clients expect a recovery by mid-2002, compared to just over one fifth of agency executives.

These responses are shown in the table and line graph below.

When do you think the media industry will recover from its current downturn? 
       
  Total respondents (%)  Clients (%)  Agencies (%) 
Early 2002 0.8 2.2 0.0
Mid-year 2002 23.4 26.7 20.6
Year-end 2002 35.5 26.7 42.6
Early 2003 26.6 22.2 27.9
Mid-year 2003 8.9 13.3 7.4
Year-end 2003 2.4 4.4 1.5
Beyond 2003 2.4 4.4 0.0
       
Source: Jack Myers Report, February 2002       

Despite the majority expecting no recovery until mid-2003, 41% of US client executives said that they plan to increase their media spending within the next twelve months. By comparison, only 22% of agency respondents said they were expecting a similar upturn in terms of advertiser spending.

“Forty-four percent of clients consider issues related to specific media sectors to be a primary reason for the downturn in the media economy. The collapse of the internet balloon, greater media fragmentation, consolidation of multi-media companies and consolidation of media buyers all factor into opportunities to deliver equal media weight and coverage with less spending,” says Jack Myers.

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