Improved trade, budgets and staffing lift European marketer confidence to record levels, says Warc
In a rare glimmer of good news from Europe the latest Warc Global marketing Index report has shown the continent to be leading a global rebound in optimism in the marketing sector.
The closely watched index saw confidence in the region rise to an all-time high this month as global trading conditions improve, staffing levels grow and marketing budgets notch up a 21st consecutive month of growth.
A headline GMI index, which takes account of all of these factors, registered a 4.2 point increase from August to hit 60.2 across Europe this month – well above the crucial 50.0 figure which demarks the boundary between expansion and contraction.
This significantly outpaced the comparable global figure of 56.4, which rose a more modest two points from August.
Warc’s index is composed of three key elements namely, global marketing budgets which registered flat growth from August to flat line at 53.3 in September and staffing levels hit 56.8 globally for the month, a rise of 3.5 points.
The third component of the statistic also saw an across-the-board improvement as trading conditions rode a 2.3 point uplift to hit 59.1 overall.
Suzy Young, data and journals director at Warc, said: “The headline GMI rose by two points in September, following four successive months of reduced growth, sending a positive signal to the wider global economy.”