UK marketing budgets were revised up in Q3 2011, with online seeing the largest rise

"The latest IPA Bellwether survey published today (Thursday 13th October 2011) reveals that marketing budgets were revised up in Q3 ending a three-quarter period of decline, as companies increased expenditure to promote new products and maintain market share amid strong competitive pressure.  With 21% of companies reporting an upward revision compared to 17% that reported a reduction, the resultant net balance* rose to a one-and-a-half-year high of 3.4% (up from -2.2% in Q2).
(net balance calculated by subtracting the percentage reporting a downward revision from the percentage reporting an upward revision.)
For the first time since Q2 2007 budgets for all sectors were revised up. The internet saw the steepest increase by a wide margin and the largest quarter-on-quarter jump in the history of the report, with a net balance of 16.6% (up from 1.9% in Q2). Main media spend, a category which includes the internet, recorded the slowest pace of budget growth and only a marginal rise, suggesting a shift to online. Direct marketing budgets were revised upwards to the greatest degree for a year, while sales promotion and ‘all other’ (below-the-line) recorded growth for the first time in 15 and 16 quarters respectively.
Yet business optimism is falling further, with marketing executives’ confidence for the industries in which they operate hitting a two-and-a half year low: the net balance of -23.3% was down from -10.9% in Q2. Even though marketing executives were slightly more optimistic about their own companies’ prospects the degree of optimism was the second lowest since Q1 2009."
Source:  Data collected & reported by the IPA, 13th October 2011