IPA Bellwether Q4 2023: Industry comment

The IPA Bellwether Report for Q4 2023 has revealed a UK marketing sector flying in the face of a shallow recession, delivering the strongest growth since 2014.

So we asked our media, marketing and adtech leading lights what they made of the latest industry pulse-reading…

Piero Pavone, CEO, Preciso

“The latest Bellwether is mostly very encouraging: total marketing budgets in Q4 2023 saw their strongest upward revisions in almost a decade, with video and other online advertising up, and almost 30% of panellists planning to spend more on marketing this year.

“But given the frailty of the economy, advertisers need to make sure they invest their money sensibly, deploying tools and technologies that minimise wasted ad spend, particularly in the sometimes opaque programmatic arena.

Zaid Al-Zaidy, Founder and Group CEO, The Beyond Collective

“It’s good to see some optimism for once, and clients’ faith in the power of investing through the pain of a soft market.

However, there remains some unknowns with more wars afoot, the ongoing raging of climate ‘boiling’ and the uncertain outcomes that come with half of the world’s democracies prepping for an election and consequent change.

“So, whilst marketers state their intention to invest, they will approach their plans with caution, consciously hover over their handbrake and we know that when budgets are pulled, it can happen very fast.

“Agencies need to grow their client portfolios and capabilities significantly to mitigate against this enduring uncertainty.”

Anne Coghlan, Co-Founder and COO, Scope3

“It’s encouraging to see advertisers cite ‘sustainability improvements’ as an opportunity rather than a threat, a sentiment that must persist regardless of how budgets shift this year.

“AI, another perceived opportunity, could be used to accelerate these improvements, but broad and untamed use also has the potential to threaten any progress made towards reducing emissions.

“Until sustainability standards are crystallised, it will be on advertisers themselves to consider the environmental impact of their operations and partner with companies that can help them reach their sustainability goals, the best of which can do so in a way that also drives business growth.”