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Advertisers have shifted their adspend away from traditional

brand-building advertising and toward direct marketing and sales

promotion, according to the latest IPA Bellwether Report.

The quarterly study, which tracks marketers' spending intentions,

revealed that media adspend fell further in the third quarter of the

year, while the more accountable direct marketing arena grew.

Jeff Hyams, managing director of direct marketing specialists Zed, said:

"This is in line with what we are seeing from our clients. In difficult

times, advertisers look to justify their budgets. Through direct

marketing, they can monitor a return on their investment."

Budget cuts varied from sector to sector and were most common in the

financial services, travel and transport and entertainment and media

arenas.

In contrast, marketers in the retail, FMCG and consumer durable sectors

set higher budgets for next year.

The report, sent to more than 200 UK companies and collated immediately

after 11 September, also claims marketers are confident the current

downturn will be brief.

The number of companies marking up next year's budget outnumbered those

trimming budgets by nearly two to one.

Bruce Haines, president of the IPA, said: "Behind these figures is a

fundamental change in media mix, a certain amount of caution and perhaps

a reaction to the events of 11 September. The good news is the

marking-up of next year's budgets, which means advertisers are

optimistic for 2002."