UK ad spend to drop 8.7%

Global ad spend is set to drop by 6.9% this year to $453bn (£304bn), with the UK expected to fall by 8.7% compared to last year, according to ZenithOptimedia.

The Publicis Groupe-owned agency had previously predicted a flat market for 2009, but says that “unprecedented economic problems” led to the market taking a “substantial turn for the worse” since it released its last forecast in December.

The rate of decline however is expected to slow towards the end of the year.

ZenithOptimedia predicts a substantial fall in ad spend among Western European countries this year, with a 8.7% drop in the UK, a 10.1% decline in Spain, 7.3% in France, 5.5% in Germany, and 5% in Italy. However, with the latter as the exception, all major markets are expected to improve by 2010.

Globally, the internet is the only medium expected to experience a rise in advertising expenditure this year, up 8.6% but down compared to the 20.9% rise experienced last year.

TV ad spend is expected to fall by 5.5%, while the newspaper industry is likely to fair the worst with a 12% decline.