Direct Marketing defies ad slump

DM has defied trends to boast a 5.8 per cent rise in billings in the UK while the market in general dropped by 6 per cent.

Spend in DM was up 5.8 per cent to £630m for the first quarter of the year, according to findings by the Advertising Association Quarterly Survey. However, the good news did not extend to other advertising disciplines, with national newspaper advertising down 17.4 per cent to £506m, outdoor down 10.8 per cent to £145m, TV ad revenue down to £849m – a drop of 6.8 per cent – and radio expenditure noticing a slight decline of 0.7 per cent.