Despite overall marketing budget growth being the weakest since 2015, experiential marketing has bucked the trend.
Figures from the Bellwether report for the third quarter of 2017 revealed that experiential spend had risen by 9.4%, up 2.1% on Q2, while real world marketing was the only discipline to register an increase over the previous quarter.
Digital marketing continued to lead in terms of investment growth at 17%, while PR performed well with a 7.2% increase in spend, but both had dipped compared to Q2. All other disciplines posted static or falling budgets.
Commenting on the Q3 figures, Paul Bainsfair, director general of the IPA, said: “What strikes us most is the extent to which UK companies – and their marketing budgets – are caught up in wider economic and geo-political uncertainty. The vast majority are in a seeming state of paralysis.”
However, this is clearly not the case with respect to experiential marketing, with shows brands increasing confidence in the discipline, for which marketing budgets have risen for the 15th consecutive quarter.