Asia Pac Not Immune to Marketing Budget Gloom

Marketing spend is in decline, not just in Europe, but also in the previously buoyant Asia Pacific region, according to a report from advertising research site Warc. However other indicators, such as general business confidence, were more positive.

Warc's latest Global Marketing Index is based on data from a panel of 1,225 executives and uses a scale where a score of more than 50 represents improvement. This month's global score is 46.1, down 1.4 on July, but this masks a wide variety by region: the rating for the Americas - which has remained above 50 for the last 9 months - actually rose from 52.3 to 53.5, while in Europe it remained very low, on 40.9, and in Asia Pacific it dropped below the 50 mark, down a whopping 4.7 to 46.0.

Among channels, digital (74.4) and mobile (69.2) are strongest, while press is in the doldrums at 34.1, radio on 41.0, outdoor 44.7 and TV 46.2. The headline GMI measure, which includes marketing expenditure, staffing levels and trading conditions, moved up from 51.3 points in July to 52.4; and assessments of the general business climate and the outlook for headcount are also more positive, especially in the Americas (60.2 and 59.4 respectively).

Data Editor Suzy Young summarised: 'Marketers in Asia Pacific and Europe are reducing budgets. In the months ahead, it will be interesting to see if the sudden dip for Asia Pacific is representative of a more deep-rooted downturn.'

Web site: www.warc.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.