MAM
Carat slashes forecast for US ad spend growth in 2005
MUMBAI: With rising oil prices, the dollar downslide and the US current account deficit being potential causes for concern in 2005, media buyer Carat, a unit of UK-based Aegis has sliced its 2005 global advertising spend forecast.
The growth predictions cited for 2005 by Carat has dipped from 4.8 per cent in September to 4.5 per cent in 2005 and the global ad spending to increase by 4.9 percent, compared with the five per cent increase its forecast stated in September.
The agency has said that despite the fact that the world was experiencing a significant recovery in advertising spending and a continued belief of advertising budgets being on the rise in the US, this action was necessary. This move has simply reiterated the concern marketing executives bear today with the recent economic health of the US.
UK FORECASTS REVISED UPWARDS
Interestingly, Carat cut its US ad spends forecast to 4.5 from 4.8 per cent although it has increased UK’s projected growth to 4.6 per cent from 4.3 per cent due to increased British marketing budgets.
According to agency reports, UK marketing budgets have been revised in the third quarter for the fourth consecutive quarter and this has led Aegis to forecast growth of 6.4 per cent in 2004, compared with previous expectations of 4.6 per cent.
The US advertising sector space although has witnessed the economic scenario heading towards the slowing of growth and fewer job gains. Also, US corporate profits have seen a slight slump in the third quarter which has led to the decline in consumer confidence in the last quarter of 2004.
Another factor in consideration are quadrennial events like the Olympics and the US elections which surged spending by about 6 per cent. 2005 is expected to record a drop in spends across most markets.
ZenithOptimedia and Universal McCann as recently as last month have on the other hand raised their figures of ad spends forecasts this year.
2004 saw Carat in Europe exceed the expected growth levels from 4.4 per cent to 4.8 per cent. It put growth in the UK at 6.4 per cent, up from 4.6 per cent.
Carat has although maintained its 2005 forecast for Europe at 4.4 per cent. But raised its forecasts for Spain from 4.2 per cent to 4.5 per cent and for France from 1.9 per cent to 2.2 per cent.
Coming to the Asia-Pacific region, advertising spends here are expected to grow by 5.8 per cent compared with 6.2 per cent in 2004. Another pint in note being that advertisers are beginning to respond to the fragmentation of television audiences by allocating more funds to the Internet and in non-traditional media.
Carat forecast Internet advertising spend to go up by 20 per cent in 2005 which currently stands at three per cent. The outdoor market was another area pointed out by the agency that would be a strong medium in the years to come which will then evolve to the growth of in-store digital delivery.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
