• by Ken Liebeskind , April 4, 2001

By Ken Liebeskind

Everyone talks about the impact of the economic downturn on advertising, but Myers Reports chronicles it. Yesterday, the New York research firm released its Advertising Confidence Index (ACI) for the second quarter of 2001.

Perhaps the name should be changed since the industry is anything but confident.

A survey of 108 advertiser and ad agency executives shows a 23% drop in advertiser confidence, from an index of 69.04 in December 2000 to 52.64 in March 2001.

The report also states that more media buyers will decrease their spending over the next 12 to 18 months. More than 35% will decrease spending, while 20% will increase it and 44% will remain stable. In December, 2000, more than 47% said they would increase it.

More that 44% of advertisers also plan to decrease their spending over the next 12 to 18 months with 21% increasing it. In December, 2000, 47% said they'd increase it.

Every measured medium showed a decline in ACI except for network radio. The steepest drops were in consumer magazines (-35.9%), national newspapers (-34.7%) and national broadcast TV (-34.1%). Network radio rose slightly (+6.5%).

Sixty-three percent of respondents cited economic developments as the primary cause for the weakening of the media economy. The majority of executives (73%) believe the media industry slowdown will continue through mid-2002.

- Ken Liebeskind may be reached at kenrunz@aol.com