Is the recession over for marketing?

In 2010, the top 100 advertisers’ spend on traditional media – that is, TV, outdoor, radio and magazines – grew by 13% overall to nearly £40bn, according to Marketing magazine’s just released Top 100 Advertisers league table*.

 

After two years of pessimism a total of 17 out of the top 25 advertisers increased their spend last year; in fact some brands in the telecoms and retail sectors made double-digit leaps in spend.

 

That’s the big brands but what about the SME sector? Marian Chapman, a marketing specialist in Home Counties Business Advisors (part of UK Business Advisors) said “our Advisors work with a wide range of businesses and have seen increased confidence in the SME sector, leading to a greater willingness to invest in marketing. Past recessions have led to companies virtually shutting down spend on marketing, but this time there is a better understanding that marketing is one of the very last areas you should economise on”.

 

Marian went on to say “of course it is very easy to waste money on marketing – something that no company can afford to do – but that is where experienced specialist marketing advisors such as those within UKBA can more than pay for themselves”.

 

It’s not yet clear what effect the government’s spending cuts will have on UK consumer and business confidence plus the earthquake in Japan and the humanitarian disaster it triggered will be a setback for the world economy, so any talk of recovery is premature, but for 2011 the future for marketing looks rosy.