The downward revision was in contrast to the final quarter of 2005, when DM budgets were revised up by 3.4 per cent. The cut is the first the sector has suffered in almost three years.
Despite this, data on new budget setting for the sector suggested DM spend is to grow this year, although at a slower rate than in previous years.
Online marketing again performed well, revising budgets upwards for the first quarter by 25.8 per cent. According to Terry Hunt, chairman of the EHS Brann Group, the huge rise in internet budgets has a hidden significance.
"The DM numbers look like a flat picture but they disguise something," he said. "Spend isn't growing but scale is - people want more for their money and that's why there's a shift of spend towards direct marketing and the internet."
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
