GCC ad markets 'set for slow growth' amid global slump

PAPER PREDICTION: US advertising chief Bob Jeffrey says ad revenues in the Gulf should continue to grow next year amid the global slump. (Getty Images)

GCC advertising markets are likely to avoid the worst of the worldwide slump in revenues, the head of the largest advertising agency in the US has said.

Global markets will continue to be depressed throughout next year and many companies will have to reduce their head count as revenue declines, Bob Jeffrey, chief executive of JWT said, but GCC markets will continue to grow.

“I’m an optimist by nature so I’m hoping that by 2010 we’ll begin to see an upswing,” he told Arabian Business.

“I think a lot of people were in denial earlier this year about what was coming. I always saw it, based on the data and looking at consumer attitudes.”

Lay offs will be “inevitable” across the board in the industry as revenue declines.

“The first line of defence is always to look at discretionary costs. We’re all looking at travel and accommodation costs,” Jeffrey said.

In the Gulf, he sees revenue growth continuing, albeit at a lower pace.

“There’s no way that one part of the world can escape a global economic meltdown. It’s just not possible. But it doesn’t negate differences in the economic profile and potential in one market versus another,” he said.

JWT’s major global clients include Ford, Nokia and Shell. It is the fourth largest marketing communications network in the world.

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