Global ad spending to fall 7%, Publicis unit warns

Declines in global advertising will be much worse than expected, says a leading media buyer PublicisGroupe, which will today unveil the grimmest forecasts yet seen for the advertising market and traditional media companies.

Worldwide advertising spending, a barometer for economic confidence, will fall 6.9 per cent in 2009 to $453bn, compared with 1 per cent growth last year, predicts Zenith Optimedia, the media buying unit of Publicis, the world's fourth-largest advertising group.

The forecasts outstrip rivals' figures released last month. Group M, owned by WPP, expects a 4.4 per cent decline this year and Carat, owned by Aegis, expects a 5.8 per cent drop.

The outlook is gloomiest for newspapers. Spending is projected to fall 12 per cent. Radio and magazines are also grappling with double-digit declines.