A leading advertising forecaster lowered expectations for ad growth in 2008 for the second time in two months, but said Monday that a mild recovery should begin late next year.
ZenithOptimedia now expects global growth of 1.3 percent this year over last year. In October, the British ad company had forecast growth of 4.3 percent, which itself was a reduction from the June forecast of 6.6 percent.
For 2009, ZenithOptimedia now expects a 0.2 percent reduction in ad spending, not the 4 percent growth projected in October.
"Consumer and corporate confidence has been severely shaken, and the economic outlook is uncertain," the company said.
Nonetheless, ZenithOptimedia said spending should improve somewhat starting in the third quarter of next year.
Its report essentially totals all spending on advertising, including online, print, TV, radio and billboards.
In an interview at a UBS investors conference, ZenithOptimedia CEO Steve King said the projections were based on recessions generally lasting 12 to 18 months. A panel for the National Bureau of Economic Research said last week that the United States entered a recession last December.
And because of the deep reductions in advertising spending late this year, King said, the numbers late next year would be compared with relatively weak periods, so the growth percentages should improve even if spending itself doesn't become significantly stronger.
Copyright 2008 AP News
