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IPA Bellwether shows further evidence of gradual recovery

New British PM Keir Starmer and his Labour government may have got lucky in more ways than expected with the election win; the UK economy is finally showing signs of life, due in part to the work of former Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Not out of the woods yet, of course as those doom-laden “experts’ on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) search about for reasons not to reduce interest rates.

The IPA’s latest Bellwether Report into marketers’ intention has some reasons be to be cheerful. Spend for all the main marketing categories is revised upwards, with a net balance of 15.9% of marketers reporting growth (versus 9.4% in Q1.) Events led the way on 17.2% with main media up a more modest 3.5%. Adspend is still forecast to flatline in 2024.

Report author Joe Hayes from S&P Global Market Intelligence says: “While a general election carries the potential to generate a lot of uncertainty and decision-making paralysis in its lead-up, it seems that UK companies in the Bellwether survey largely shrugged it off as a factor to consider when assessing their marketing budgets in the second quarter as growth jumped to a 10-year high.

“A strong performance by the UK economy so far this year, in tandem with falling inflation and the expectation of an imminent interest rate reduction by the Bank of England, has helped lift confidence, providing more fertile grounds for companies who wish to invest into their brands and position themselves for long-term growth.”

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