Improved December Trading Drives Marketing Confidence

Better trading conditions have prompted marketers to report a 'generally improved' outlook in December, according to Warc's latest Global Marketing Index (GMI). However, the survey suggests this confidence has not carried over to the budget setting process.

The GMI provides a monthly indicator of the state of the global marketing industry, with a reading of 50 indicating no change, and a reading of over 60 indicating rapid growth. In the most recent survey, 1,225 marketers were asked about trends they have observed across marketing budgets, trading conditions, and staffing levels, producing an overall GMI level of 52.5.

By region, the index for the Americas showed the strongest improvement, to 56.8, and conditions in Asia Pacific also improved (51.5). European marketers remained the least positive with an index value of 49.7.

During the month, there was improvement across all three of the individual components that contribute towards the headline GMI metric. The index for global trading conditions showed 'significant improvement' on 57.1, up from 53.4 in November, representing the highest reading recorded since May 2012.

The index figure for marketing budgets was 47.2, an improvement on last month and in line with conditions experienced during June/July, while the global index of staffing levels - the third component of headline GMI - showed a modest improvement in December on 53.0.

Suzy Young, Data Editor at Warc, comments: 'The outlook for global trading conditions is positive according to the December data, but this confidence has not carried over to budget setting. There remain a number of risks to future global economic growth and marketing strategies are, consequently, defensive.'

Web site: www.warc.com .