Marketing budgets continue to improve on a global scale, though not quite at the rate seen last month, per Warc’s latest Global Marketing Index (GMI). This month, the budget component of the index recorded a value of 52.7, down from last month’s peak of 54.3, but still marking the 6th consecutive month above the threshold value of 50. (A score above 50 indicates a generally improving environment, while a score below 50 indicates a generally declining environment.) [Note that the initial Warc press release incorrectly displayed a value of 54.3 for global marketing budgets. A call to Warc confirms that the value is actually 52.7.]
Looking at the budget component breakdown by region, the data reveals that marketers in the Americas are still the most bullish, with a reading of 56.3 (down from a high of 58 last month). Those in the Asia-Pacific region are next, at 55.5, their highest reading since the index’s beginning. Europe’s budget sentiment stood at 48.3, the second-consecutive month of decline, and appearing to be on a downward trend after recording a value of 49.3 last month.
Other Findings:
- The global index for staffing levels rebounded to a reading of 57.1, with values highest in the Americas and Asia-Pacific (59.2), ahead of Europe (54.7).
- The index for trading conditions remained highest in the Americas, at 60.2, signifying rapid expansion (though down from 60.8 in May). Globally, the index stood at 58.1
- The headline global marketing index (GMI), comprised of the budget, staffing, and trading conditions components, is at 55.9 this month.
About the Data: Warc’s global panel (1,225 members) consists of experienced executives working for brand owners, media owners, creative and media agencies and other organisations serving the marketing industry. The panel has been carefully selected to reflect trends in the three main global regions: Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe.
Data collection period: 3-14 May 2013. The Global Marketing Index results are calculated by taking the percentage of respondents that report that the activity has risen (“Increasing”) and adding it to one-half of the percentage that report the activity has not changed (“Unchanged”). Using half of the “Unchanged” percentage effectively measures the bias toward a positive (above 50 points) or negative (below 50 points) index. As an example of calculating a diffusion index, if the response is 40% “Increasing,” 40% “Unchanged,” and 20% “Reducing,” the Diffusion Index would be 60 points (40% + [0.50 x 40%]). A value of 50 indicates “no change” from the previous month.
