Marketing spend on the increase

Marketing spend rose at its fastest rate for three years in the first quarter of 2007, according to the IPA Bellwether report. It has also found that marketing budgets have been increased in response to healthy sales and profits, business expansion plans and new product launches.

The optimistic report says that one in four companies have increased marketing spend and just 16% claimed to have cut spend. It is the strongest increase for three years and continues the steady rise in spend that has been seen since budget cuts peaked in the last quarter of 2005.

The strongest increase in spend was in internet advertising, which now accounts for just 6% of advertising. There has also been an increase in budget for all other types of marketing although direct marketing saw just a marginal rise and sales promotion budgets were unchanged.

The provisional data on actual spend in 2006 indicates that marketing spend rose at a stronger pace than in 2005. Direct marketing saw the strongest rate of increase, as has been the case in each year since the survey began, followed by “all other” marketing. Main media advertising, such as TV, saw only a very modest rise, boosted by internet spend, but the weakest increase was recorded for sales promotion.