Bright Future For Global Advertising Sector, Report Predicts

A report from Merrill Lynch suggests that the outlook for global ad expenditure growth remains bright while the prospects for below-the-line services are even better.

The report, entitled How Long Can The Good Times Last? A Long Time, predicts that advertising expenditures are likely to grow 5-6% globally in 1998, driven by increased spending in the healthcare, financial services and telecommunications industries. The Asian crisis is unlikely to have a visible negative impact.

It is also predicted that below-the-line businesses will grow in importance as marketers face the challenge of media fragmentation and higher ad rates. Meanwhile the market share gains of the 15 truly global ad agencies is expected to grow as large clients continue to use fewer agencies. Full service agencies will therefore be challenged to become either fully-fledged multi-disciplined marketing communication agencies or highly specialised outfits.

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