Ad Agencies More Optimistic than Marketers for Short-Term

Ad agency and marketing execs feel generally pessimistic about the short-term future of ad spending, though those at agencies are slightly more optimistic than marketers, according to a new tracking study from Advertiser Perceptions Inc., which measures various aspects of the industry’s confidence levels during the recession.

Nearly a third of agencies (31%) believe they will reduce their ad spending over the next six months. For marketers, that number leaps to 42%, reports MediaBuyerPlanner.

When it comes to particular media, 35% of agency execs plan to cut broadcast TV ad budgets, while 55% of marketers say they will make broadcast TV budget reductions. For national newspapers, 54% of agencies and 71% of marketers plan cuts. For cable TV, one of the media with the highest optimism levels, just 18% of agencies plan budget cuts, compared with 33% of marketers.

For outdoor advertising, 22% of agencies plan cuts, while 44% of marketers plan to reduce spending.

More Optimism Online

Despite more gloomy outlooks for traditional outlets, The ad industry continues to be optimistic about online media. Just 17% of marketers and agency execs plan to cut in that area, while only 10% of agency execs and 11% of marketers plan to cut spending in online search. However, this optimism appears to be falling at a faster rate than for any other major medium, Advertiser Perceptions found.

Mobile advertising budgets are likely to be boosted, say 52% of agency executives and 58% of marketers. In contrast, 26% of marketers say mobile advertising budgets will be cut.

About the research: The Advertiser Optimism Report is a new series of bi-monthly polls tracking the confidence top ad execs have in spending budgets across the major media.