Global marketing index stays positive in August

The global marketing industry enjoyed generally positive business conditions in August, despite some less optimistic results in Europe and Asia, according to Warc's Global Marketing Index.

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The global index of marketing budgets held steady, returning a reading of 51.5 this month- the same reading as July. But Asia Pacific experienced a net decline in budget expectations: after July's sharp drop to a flat 50.0, the region's index is down further in August, to 48.2.

Europe has seen a slight improvement, reaching 50.0, a 0.3 increase from July. Only the Americas, up 0.3 points from July to 55.8, saw a net rise in marketing budgets for August.

The GMI is a unique indicator of the state of the global marketing industry. Every month it tracks conditions among marketers within their organization and region. It tracks marketing budgets, trading conditions and staffing levels. A reading of 50 indicates no change, and above 60 indicates rapid growth.

The global headline GMI- a metric combining all three components: budgets, trading conditions and staffing levels- reached 55.6 in August, a 1.3 point rise from July. This was led by increases in the Americas, whose headline GMI reading rose 1.9 points to 58.3, and Europe, up 1.9 points to 54.8. Asia Pacific's index fell slightly, down 0.8 points to 53.8.

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The global index of trading conditions, the second component of the headline GMI, rose 0.6 points to reach 57.1. Conditions improved the most in the Americas, up 2.7 points to 61.2. Europe and Asia Pacific recorded positive readings of 55.2 and 55.0 respectively.

Lastly, the global index of staffing levels, the third and final component of headline GMI, recorded a big increase this month- up 3.2 points to 58.2. This is its equal highest reading for 16 months, suggesting an upswing in hiring in every region. The global increase was led by a 6.3 point rise in Europe, to 59.3, while the Americas' index rose from 55.1 to 57.8, and Asia Pacific was up by 0.9 points, to 58.2.

Suzy Young, Data and Journals Director at Warc, said, "For the first time since the GMI began, the outlook for marketing budgets in Europe is more positive than that for Asia Pacific. But trading conditions for both regions are roughly on a par. We will have to wait and see if Europe's outperformance in August is part of a long-term trend."