LONDON: Global marketing activity continued to grow in November, according to the latest Global Marketing Index (GMI), but European marketers reported a brighter outlook than their counterparts in Asia-Pacific and the Americas.
The headline GMI for November stood at 54.9, down slightly from its value of 55.2 in October. A reading of 50 indicates no change from the previous month while 60+ indicates rapid growth.
Compiled by World Economics, the GMI provides a unique monthly indicator of the state of the global marketing industry because it tracks current conditions for marketers as well as their expectations for budgets and staffing levels.
November's results showed marketing activity grew most strongly in Europe, a market which the report described as "buoyant" and where the headline GMI grew from 58.6 to 58.8.
There was more muted growth in Asia-Pacific, although the headline GMI for the region slipped marginally from 53.8 in October to 53.7 in November.
Meanwhile, the headline GMI for the Americas continued to decline, to 51.1 from the 51.8 recorded in the previous month and 52.8 in September.
While that meant the overall outlook for the Americas remained in positive growth territory, the region's index for marketing budgets showed it has remained below the 50.0 no change level for four of the last five months, and the rate of budget contraction in November increased at a faster rate.
By contrast, the marketing budget index for Europe increased 0.4 to 57.1 in November, a value well above the long run index level of 54.9 for the region.
Marketers in Asia-Pacific continued to report consistent low levels of growth in their budgets with no change between October and November.
Looking at global media spend, the report confirmed "very strong" growth in the resources being allocated to digital and mobile at the expense of traditional media.
Expenditure on digital rose 0.6 to 75.5 in November while the index value for mobile increased a full point to 72.8.
The global index value for TV fell slightly in November to 48.7, below the 50.0 no change level, but there was a sharp contrast between the value of 40.8 in the Americas and 53.4 in Europe, the region's highest value for TV since March.
"The Global Marketing Index reading for November indicates that marketers in Europe are leading the way by signalling buoyant levels of business activity," said Ed Jones, chief executive of World Economics.
"The Asia-Pacific region has seen slow but consistent levels of growth, whereas the Americas are continuing to experience a long slowdown with marketing budgets being cut at the fastest pace in over four years."
The headline GMI for November stood at 54.9, down slightly from its value of 55.2 in October. A reading of 50 indicates no change from the previous month while 60+ indicates rapid growth.
Compiled by World Economics, the GMI provides a unique monthly indicator of the state of the global marketing industry because it tracks current conditions for marketers as well as their expectations for budgets and staffing levels.
November's results showed marketing activity grew most strongly in Europe, a market which the report described as "buoyant" and where the headline GMI grew from 58.6 to 58.8.
There was more muted growth in Asia-Pacific, although the headline GMI for the region slipped marginally from 53.8 in October to 53.7 in November.
Meanwhile, the headline GMI for the Americas continued to decline, to 51.1 from the 51.8 recorded in the previous month and 52.8 in September.
While that meant the overall outlook for the Americas remained in positive growth territory, the region's index for marketing budgets showed it has remained below the 50.0 no change level for four of the last five months, and the rate of budget contraction in November increased at a faster rate.
By contrast, the marketing budget index for Europe increased 0.4 to 57.1 in November, a value well above the long run index level of 54.9 for the region.
Marketers in Asia-Pacific continued to report consistent low levels of growth in their budgets with no change between October and November.
Looking at global media spend, the report confirmed "very strong" growth in the resources being allocated to digital and mobile at the expense of traditional media.
Expenditure on digital rose 0.6 to 75.5 in November while the index value for mobile increased a full point to 72.8.
The global index value for TV fell slightly in November to 48.7, below the 50.0 no change level, but there was a sharp contrast between the value of 40.8 in the Americas and 53.4 in Europe, the region's highest value for TV since March.
"The Global Marketing Index reading for November indicates that marketers in Europe are leading the way by signalling buoyant levels of business activity," said Ed Jones, chief executive of World Economics.
"The Asia-Pacific region has seen slow but consistent levels of growth, whereas the Americas are continuing to experience a long slowdown with marketing budgets being cut at the fastest pace in over four years."
Data sourced from World Economics; additional content by Warc staff
