The recession has forced clients to not only rethink marketing budgets and needs but their relationships with advertising agencies with 55 per cent saying they are slashing their spend further into 2009.
According to the Client-Agency Economic Outlook Survey from Reardon Smith Whittaker (RSW), the economy has affected 87 per cent of US agencies and 91 per cent of their clients.
The main reasons for clients leaving their agencies were lack of fresh ideas (73 per cent) and the need to cut costs (44 per cent), according to the survey.
In the first half of 2009, 55 per cent of clients had spending decreases of six per cent or more with 35 per cent expecting to see further falls of six per cent in the second half of this year.
Last week, WPP chief executive Martin Sorrell said that he sees confidence returning to the economy, but this has yet to result in new ad spending.
Sorrell said China was an exception, noting that in April the advertising sector there grew 25 per cent thanks to infrastructure investments and fiscal stimulus measures.
Sorrell added that 12 per cent of WPP's world budget in 2009 would be dedicated to the internet.
According to RSW’s survey, 50 per cent of agency clients spending more on e-mail marketing than the previous years.
Furthermore, almost one-third of clients have increased their commitment to search engine optimization, while 56 per cent and 28 per cent did the same for social media and online display.
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