UK companies fall in European advertising spend league

UK companies are committing less money to marketing, advertising and customer loyalty programmes than their European counterparts, claims a survey published this week.

Research International’s “Windows on the World” survey questioned almost 1,400 senior managers, including chief executives, financial directors and marketing directors, from 43 countries.

It claims that whereas 55 per cent of European companies forecast a growth in marketing and advertising, only 42 per cent did so in the UK. Fifty-seven per cent of European companies predicted an increase in customer loyalty spending, compared with 49 per cent in the UK.

However, the UK scored the highest in cause-related marketing. Where 21 per cent of European companies and 28 per cent of worldwide companies predicted a rise in spend on these areas, the figure in the UK was 39 per cent of companies. Last year, only 12 per cent of UK companies forecast a growth in spend on this area.

Overall, business leaders are optimistic about economic prospects, with the UK the second-most optimistic country after China. Some 78 per cent of UK companies feel the UK economy will improve over the coming year. The survey attributes this high figure to the fact that interviews were conducted in May, shortly after the Labour Government was elected, “when an intangible but well-documented feelgood factor was high”.