IT’S official. Any squeeze being felt by advertising sales managers among Scotland’s media outlets was confirmed yesterday with news that the first three months of this year have been the lowest for marketing spend since the 9/11 terrorist attacks of seven years ago.
According to The Q2 2008 Bellwether Report, current marketing budgets have been revised down for the third consecutive quarter and to the greatest extent since 9/11.
The report cites disappointing sales, rising costs and growing economic gloom as the reason for companies cutting marketing budgets. It also forecasts the likelihood of further cuts later in the year, brought on by the low levels of corporate profitability compared to a year ago.
All sectors of marketing saw budget cuts with the exception of the internet. However, this saw the smallest upward revision in the last six years.
Main media budgets saw the sharpest downgrades, particularly in traditional media (TV, press, outdoor, radio and cinema) with budgets dropping at the fastest rate since Q1 two years ago.
This was followed by ‘all other’ marketing (for example PR, events, research), with downward budget revisions indicating that growth will be the weakest here for at least five years.
