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Budget Well Received For Focus On Big Data And Investment

  • The Drum, Thursday, March 20, 2014 10:03 AM
The 2014 Budget has been cautiously well received by London's advertising and marketing community. The overall level of growth exceeding previous estimates is generally looked upon as encouraging in a Budget speech from a Chancellor who very clearly has the looming 2015 election in mind.

Of particular note, however, was the setting up of The Alan Turing Institute for the study of Big Data. This has been universally well received as a fitting tribute to a war hero who was so horrendously betrayed because of his sexuality by the country he helped to save. Because Big Data and marketing now go hand in hand, the Institute is widely seen as putting the UK at the centre of Big Data innovation.

Raising the annual ISA threshold is expected to see heightened activity in personal finance advertising, both when the next tax year starts in three weeks as well as in July when savers' allowances will rocket to £15,000 per annum.

Elsewhere improved help on child care costs, further support for the 'help to buy' property scheme and a doubling in the investment allowance, to half a million pounds per year, all met with widespread approval.

Agencies with bingo clients probably had extra reason to cheer as potentially extra budget is released following a halving of the tax on bingo companies to 10%.

The question among London's advertisers remains, however. With consumers still showing caution as wages fail to keep pace with inflation, will the extra consumer spending that the economy needs to improve the recovery process actually be possible?

Read the whole story at The Drum »

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