Global ad spend revised down again

Global advertising spend is expected to drop 5.5 percent in 2009, more than previously thought, before a mild recovery begins in 2010, according to a new forecast. WPP's GroupM said on Wednesday that spending on measured media was expected to drop to $417 billion in 2009 and to be down 1.4 percent to $411 billion in 2010, according to the forecast which looked at 70 countries. Its previous forecast in March put the 2009 decline at 4.4 percent. GroupM, which acts as the parent company to the WPP media agencies, said the BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China were set to lead the recovery.