The advertising industry in the US is beginning to move again following a ‘general paralysis’ immediately before and during the initial stages of the war in Iraq, according to analysts at Merrill Lynch. The broker says that this paralysis has now begun to dissipate, although caution over the state of the broader economy is still… Continue reading US Advertising To Move Out Of ‘Paralysis’ In Q3, Says Merrill Lynch

Almost three-quarters of UK businesses believe that their marketing spend will rise over the next twelve months by levels up to or exceeding the rate of inflation. According to a survey by Black And White Public Relations, 73% of respondents are expecting this rate of marketing growth, whilst 27% predict that budgets will remain static… Continue reading UK Businesses See Increasing Marketing Spend

Concern about the so-called “digital divide” has heightened following the release of a new report which shows that 42% of Americans do not use the internet. Since the turn of the millennium, internet usage has continued to grow making the medium more attractive to marketers and retailers (see INSIGHTanalysis: The Internet Approaches Maturity). However, enthusiasm… Continue reading Refusenets Still Resist The Lure Of The Web

Global advertising and marketing group, Havas, is expected to report first quarter revenues down by 13.3% in a statement that will focus on continued weakness in Europe and marketing services, with an uncertain outlook for 2003. This is according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. The broker has reduced its full-year 2003 revenue growth from -4.5%… Continue reading Morgan Stanley Sees Sense In Havas’ Marketing Services Slant

The merger of Carlton Communications and Granada into a single ITV group is unlikely to receive regulatory approval with a combined sales house, according to Lehman Brothers. After analysing the OFT’s submission to the DTI, the broker believes that the two companies will struggle to get their merger plans passed without any conciliatory adjustments. In… Continue reading ITV Merger Unlikely With Combined Sales House, Says Lehman Brothers

Shares in regional newspaper publisher, Johnston Press, were down by 4.5p at 361.5p by 10.00am today, after Merrill Lynch analysts downgraded the group from Buy to Neutral. Worries that consumer spending patterns are about to take a dive underlie the broker’s downgrade (see Neil Blackley Sees ‘Dire’ Decline In Media Industry). Johnston Press derives around… Continue reading Consumer Dip May Put Squeeze On Johnston Press, Say Analysts

The downturn in advertising spend in the US has reached its bottom and is now recovering, Jack Myers quotes JPMorgan analyst Spencer Wang as saying this week. In the Jack Myers Report, Wang is said to be relatively cautious in the short-term, but believes that the long-term fundamentals for media companies remain intact. Looking at… Continue reading US Ad Market Is Recovering, Says Analyst

Over 70% of the UK’s SME ecommerce websites are profitable, according to a new report from the software developer, Actinic. The 2003 SME Ecommerce Market Report found that the rate of adoption of ecommerce among small and medium businesses has fallen from 26% to 21%. However, 71% of websites are profitable and 53% of companies… Continue reading Study Assesses SMEs’ Attitude To Ecommerce

Europe remains the most expensive region in the world for DSL, according to new research from Point Topic. The company based its analysis on average residential tariffs from some of the largest operators in March 2003 and compared this data with similar research carried out in previous years. The study centres on “first year cost”,… Continue reading European Consumers Get A Raw Deal On DSL, Says Report

Global communications network, Aegis Group, has acquired the media buying assets of North American agency, Independent Media Services (IMS), for $7.4 million, the group announced this morning. IMS is a media buying agency which specialises in representing clients in the entertainment sector, specifically in motion pictures, television, cable television, newspapers and the arts. Aegis says… Continue reading Aegis Acquires IMS Media Buying Agency