Sorrell Upbeat On Prospect Of Advertising Recovery
WPP chief executive, Sir Martin Sorrell, has provided further evidence of an end to the advertising downturn by announcing that the group’s financial results for the first quarter of this year are ‘quite lively’.
He also told the 86th American Association of Advertising Agencies management conference that the softer business segments such as public relations and public affairs were showing ‘some signs of life’.
Sorrell is usually reluctant to be overly upbeat when predicting the industry’s fortunes and has so far refused to call an end to the slump, insisting that any recovery in the economic climate would be gradual.
However, the Olympic games and US presidential elections are expected to increase advertising revenue for the global advertising and marketing group. In anticipation of this Sorrell said: “We feel a little better about 2004.”
Recent indicators suggest the UK outlook is improving and the latest Bellwether report from the IPA reveals that current budgets were revised up in the first three months of 2003 following higher than expected sales revenues and an improvement in profits (see Recovery Slowly Gathers Pace For UK Advertisers).
Commenting on the future for the advertising market, Sorrell added: “I fundamentally believe and am very optimistic about the long-term trend in our industry.”
WPP owns three of the top companies in advertising – J Walter Thompson, Ogilvy & Mather and Young & Rubicam – which account for more than half of the group’s overall revenues. It is understood that around 65% of WPP revenue comes from the US, 35% from Europe and 20% from Asia- Pacific
In a separate speech to the conference, Saatchi and Saatchi’s chief executive, Kevin Roberts, emphasised the need for passionate and unconventional ideas to drive the market. He said: “Our fight back to A-plus starts with consumer. It’s the consumer, not convergence. The consumer is boss. A boss who wants surprise and delight, not a mirror; who wants to be impressed and enthralled, not followed around with a clipboard.”
WPP: 020 7408 2204 www.wpp.com
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