• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, July 20, 2009

Ad spending plans for online and mobile media have rebounded more than any other major media, according to the most recent in an every-other-monthly series of surveys tracking to optimism of advertisers and agency media buying executives (Online Media Daily July 17), but marketers are slightly more bullish than their agency counterparts, especially for mobile.

The findings, which come from a poll of 200 "media decision makers" conducted by Advertiser Perceptions Inc. in late June and early July, shows that the ad spending expectations of both advertisers and agencies have improved for online media in recent weeks, but still has not regained its high point from the Fall of 2007. Plans for mobile media, however, have reached their highest point in the two years that API has been tracking ad spending confidence levels for the medium.

API normally tracks the perceptions of advertisers and agencies toward major media, and specific media brands, including their plans for ad spending "over the next six months" on a twice-a-year basis - once in the Spring and again in the Fall. But beginning this year, API began polling the media decision makers bi-monthly to monitor how advertising confidence levels have been affected by the U.S. economic recession.

The most recent report indicates that expectations have improved for most major media, but that digital media are the strongest.

Among online advertising options, overall confidence levels appear about equal for display and search advertising, though agency executives may be slightly more optimistic than their client-side counterparts.

The opposite is true for mobile, however, where the ad spending expectations of marketers is markedly higher than it is for agency executives.

Marketers More Optimistic Than Agencies On Display, Search, Mobile Ads
	Total			Agency			Marketer
Increase/Decrease	+	=	-	+	=	-	+	=	-
Online (Average)	58%	37%	5%	58%	37%	6%	58%	37%	5%
Online Display	56%	38%	7%	58%	36%	6%	52%	40%	8%
Online Search	60%	36%	4%	58%	37%	5%	54%	34%	2%
Mobile	61%	35%	4%	57%	37%	6%	70%	30%	0%

Source: Advertiser Perceptions Inc. "Optimism" is defined by the number of percentage points separating the percentages of respondents citing plans to increase or decrease their advertising budgets in each medium over the next six months. Trends are based over three bi-monthly tracking reports conducted so far this year.