WPP PLC : UK Marketing Spend Dips on Euro-zone Concerns
07/11/2012| 07:16pm US/Eastern
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LONDON-- Spending on advertising among U.K. companies fell marginally in the second quarter of 2012 as worries over the effects of the euro-zone crisis on the British economy persisted, an industry body said Thursday.
Around 23% of companies responding to a survey reported a reduction in their marketing budgets over the three months ended June 30, against 22% that reported a rise, and 55% that reported no change, according to the latest Bellwether Report, published by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, in collaboration with research firm Markit.
The figures represent a reversal from the first quarter, when 22% of companies reported higher marketing spend against 21% reporting a fall.
Internet advertising bucked the second-quarter trend though, with a net balance of 5.1% of companies reporting a rise in spending. The net balance is calculated by subtracting the percentage reporting a fall from the percentage reporting an increase.
Business confidence also fell during the quarter having surged during the first three months of 2012, the survey, which is based on data from a panel of some 300 marketing professionals, showed.
The slight drop fall in confidence "reflects in part the re-emergence of heightened uncertainty emanating from the escalation of the euro debt crisis," the IPA said.
IPA President Nicola Mendelsohn said the very small difference between companies reporting a decrease in marketing budgets and those reporting an increase suggests that "things do seem to be holding up."
U.K.-based global advertising group WPP Plc (WPP.LN) said in a trading statement last month that its U.K. revenues fell slightly in April, but added it expects to see a boost from the London Olympics later this month.
-Write to Rory Gallivan at rory.gallivan@dowjones.com
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