Four in 10 multinationals still plan to hold back adspend until 2021

More than 40% of multinationals are still planning to defer their adspend by at least six months, according to the World Federation of Advertisers' Covid-19 Response Tracker.

The same level of deferral was found in data released by the WFA in May, signalling a hesitance from companies across the globe to resume advertising, despite lockdown restrictions easing in the UK and abroad.

While four in five (78%) companies have now launched response campaigns in light of Covid-19 (up from 68% last month), the WFA noted that these have tended to involve smaller advertising investments from multinationals.

More than half (51%) of respondents said they felt negatively about the current business environment, with almost as many (46%) expressing the same negativity in relation to the next six months; they were much more likely to feel positive about the next six months (27%), however, than the present (8%).

The results for Wave III of the tracker are based on responses from 35 major advertisers across more than eight key sectors with a cumulative total annual adspend of $65 billion.

Stephan Loerke, chief executive of the WFA, said: "While the overall picture may show continued restraint when it comes to global adspend, anecdotal evidence from our conversations with CMOs shows that major multinationals are seeing business growth in China and more broadly across APAC.

"We are also hearing about rises in adspend globally in some key sectors. We expect advertisers to remain cautious but many are preparing plans for recovery."

He continued: "A more tactical approach, where opportunities for more flexible, short-term buying become available, is likely to be key to building confidence for a return to higher levels of advertising investment."

Earlier this month (9 June), the WFA and UN issued a joint open letter calling for global action globally on diversity and inclusion in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the Black Lives Matter movement.