• Ad Age, Monday, March 10, 2008 11:01 AM

A top industry analyst is predicting modest ad-spending growth this year even as the stock market crumbles and the Labor Department shows weaker-than-expected employment trends. According to Bear Stearns' Alexia Quadrani, U.S. ad spending will be up 4% in 2008, vs. 3.3% last year. She says national ad spending "remains healthy," although local advertising is "anemic" in the face of digital media's growth. She sees "no sign of any major pullback in national ad growth," pointing to public comments from top ad executives.

But even with fears about the economy, Quadrani says marketers still have reason to spend on advertising in an extremely competitive landscape. Many have also raised prices and need to advertise to get consumers to keep buying their stuff, she adds, while corporate profits in many industries remain healthy, though not in the financial-services and automotive sectors.

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