Wednesday 12 October 2016 2:14 pm

Advertising spend forecast increased, showing companies have “held their nerve in the face of Brexit uncertainty”

A closely-watched report has forecast advertising spend in the UK will increase by 1.9 per cent in 2016, up from a previous estimate of a 0.2 per cent fall.

The IPA’s Bellwether Report suggested that its forecast revision shows marketers “have held their nerve in the face of Brexit uncertainty”.

But the research suggested that 2017 will be a more challenging year, with further uncertainty around Brexit negotiations.

Paul Bainsfair, IPA director general, said: “With marketing budgets revised up to their highest degree in over two years, we can say that marketers have held their nerve in the face of Brexit uncertainty.

“It is also pleasing that in light of this, Bellwether is now predicting a positive forecast for adspend growth for 2016.

“As the negotiated terms of UK withdrawal from the EU will become clearer in 2017 Bellwether predicts a more challenging year. We are certainly living through interesting times.”

Paul Smith, senior economist at IHS Markit, said:

Given the widely held view of a challenging economic climate following the Brexit vote in late June, the latest Bellwether survey provides some welcome positive news with companies willing to raise and inject fresh resources into their marketing budgets during the third quarter.

The outlook remains uncertain, especially when trying to understand what the impact of the EU referendum vote will be, and financial prospects have somewhat softened as a result. However, a number of companies are looking through the uncertainty and see a new range of opportunities for their businesses to grow and flourish with.