Marketing Spend Down in Q2 as Business Confidence Weakens PR Newswire LONDON, July 12, 2012 LONDON, July 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest IPA Bellwether survey published today (Thursday 12th July) reveals that marketing budgets were revised down for the first time in a year in Q2 reflecting pressure to cut costs as profit margins continued to be hit by weaker- than-expected sales, and amid concerns regarding the future path of the economy. However the downward revision was marginal, with 23% of companies reporting a reduction compared to 22% that reported a rise, the resultant net balance* was just -1. 1% (down from 1% in Q1). However the Q2 downward revision suggests it will remain a close call as to whether total marketing spend will increase this year, as had been the plan at the outset. (And final data is now in for 2011 actual spend, revealing a decline, albeit marginal at -1.7%.) And business confidence waned in Q2 compared to the surge seen three months earlier. Marketing executives' views on the prospects for the industry in which they operate saw the net balance* drop sharply from 1% to -16.8%. And in relation to their own companies' prospects a net balance* of 2.1% in comparison to 19.1% in Q1. General business optimism was buoyed at the start of the year amid hopes the global economy had turned a corner.