Articles

20.1.2011 Marketing budgets fall in UK

Marketers in the UK reduced their budgets during the closing three months of 2010, but intend to heightening investment through most main media in 2011. Trade body the IPA and accountancy network BDO regularly survey 300 companies from the top 1,000 corporations in the country, to establish the latest communications spending trends.

Overall, 22% of contributors reported that budgets declined in the final quarter of last year, exceeding the 17% which delivered an increase on this metric, a net balance of -5.4%. This constituted the worst performance for around a year, although it was still significantly better than much of 2008 and 2009. It also reflected a growing pessimism regarding the financial climate among executives, as the difference between the number providing a positive and negative assessment reached 10.8%, down on 15.8% in Q3.

When asked to outline probable spending plans for 2011, the panel suggested budgets should prove more substantial than overall expenditure in 2010. Main media, direct marketing and the web are likely to attract greater resources, while brand owners seek to lessen their reliance on sales promotion.

B.L. 20.1.2011