The technology sector’s sharp cutbacks in marketing spending proved to be a drag on growth for most holding companies last year and it’s not yet clear when normal spending levels will resume in the category. 

Both IPG and WPP cited the tech category as a continuing drag on results when they reported Q1 earnings this week.  

For IPG, the hit wasn’t as bad as in previous quarters—about 1.5%--prompting company CEO Philippe Krakowsky to declare that the category had “stabilized.” 

For WPP the hit was a whopping 9% for its technology and digital services category, which accounts for 17% of its overall business. That was worse than the roughly 7% decline it saw in the category in 2023.  

Analysts on a WPP call today repeatedly asked company executives when they think the category will return to growth. 

The answer: Not this year. 

WPP CEO Mark Read said that based on conversations with clients in the sector and their current thinking on budgets spending “will improve over the course of the year.” 

But CFO Joanne Wilson added that while the company expects an “improved trajectory,” it is “not expecting a full recovery” in the category in 2024.