Bountiful 2004 adspend to maintain momentum this year

by Daniel Farey-Jones,, Brand Republic 05-Jan-05, 09:00

LONDON - Global advertising expenditure is set to grow by 4.9% in 2005, according to Carat's latest forecast, which has revised UK adspend upwards.

Despite the upward UK trend, Carat revised its September global estimate of 5% growth slightly downwards.

The Aegis-owned media agency also revised its figures for 2004, this time upwards from 5.7% to 6% growth. It attributed the change to the European recovery and robust growth in the USA and Asia-Pacific.

Carat revised its estimate of 2005 UK adspend growth up from 4.3% to 4.6% and hailed the current expansion of marketing budgets as the longest continual period of improvement since the beginning of 2000.

Doug Flynn, CEO of Aegis, said: "The one-off impact of the quadrennial effect -- additional spend generated by major sports and political events -- provided a fillip to global adspend in 2004 and we see 2005 growth settling in at 4.9%, with advertisers' confidence stable and the market looking firm."

The performance of TV and outdoor helped 2004 UK growth to jump to 6.4%, compared with Carat's September estimate of 4.6%.

Discussing sector performance, Carat noted that advertisers remained committed to broadcast television, while the internet was set for 20% global growth and would become essential to marketers.

It expected outdoor to perform steadily as it moved towards digital delivery, while the sector that will see strongest competition is in-store digital media.

If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the Forum here.