UK ad budgets on upturn, says Bellwether report

UK marketers increased their advertising budgets by a marginal 0.5% in the three months to the end of September, a significant improvement over the 4.6% decline recorded in the previous quarter, according to the latest Bellwether survey. Published by ad agency trade body the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and considered a key measure of the health of the industry, the quarterly report found that the proportion of companies that increased their annual advertising budget between July and September was only slightly more than those that reported a cut. "The latest Bellwether indicates an ongoing reluctance among companies to commit to new marketing spending," said Chris Williamson, the chief economist at Markit and author of the Bellwether report. The slight 0.5% increase in overall UK marketing spend was fuelled by an increase in budgets for "main media", which includes advertising on TV, press and radio as well as the internet, by 5.3% compared with the previous quarter – the biggest in three years. Budgets for online display advertising grew by an impressive 13.3% compared with the previous three months, with search up 9.9%. "With main media advertising revised up to the greatest extent for three years, the survey suggests that many companies have grown bolder about reinvesting in their brands," said Williamson. "But this improvement needs to be treated with caution." This is because while the report showed that marketers remained positive about the prospects of their own companies, the numbers expecting an improvement in the sector as a whole dropped to the lowest point in more than a year. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".