The IPA (Institute of Practioners in Advertising) says of their Q2 Bellwether Report...

"....The Q2 2008 Bellwether Report, the quarterly survey of marketing spend, published today (14th July 2008), reveals that current budgets have been revised down for the third consecutive quarter and to the greatest extent since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in late 2001 caused business confidence to plummet...."

The report cites "....disappointing sales, rising costs and growing economic gloom..." as the reason for the downturn and the reduction of marketing budgets. It also says further cuts later in the year will happen as corporate profitability continues to suffer year-on-year.

It also states that "...all sectors of marketing saw budget cuts with the exception of the internet...." It sounds a note of caution about the later by noting that online "...had the smallest increase since 2003..."

Tradional media budgets for broadcast, print and display saw the biggest falls. This is at the same time that circulation numbers for all news publications and TV programmes is continuing to fall as people move to getting news and information online.

On Radio 4 today the IPA spokesperson said that although the economic downturn had caused some of the above the other reason is a switch of budgets from traditional media to new media. They discussed the possibility that the size of the marketing budget maybe declining but traditional media budgets are being switched to online. The example given was of Cadbury's Gorilla campaign. Online generated more viewers than TV did. The ad cost the same to make where ever it was shown but TV ads cost millions. Online nothing as it used WOMMA.