Marketing budgets rebounded in the second quarter of 2025 according to the latest IPA Bellwether Report, reversing the reduction recorded in Q1 – the first in four years.
Despite the challenges stemming from geopolitical and economic uncertainty, the report revealed a net balance of +5.5% of panellists reported a rise in their total marketing budgets for the second quarter of 2025, a notable improvement from -4.8% in the prior quarter.
However, a closer look at the findings reveals that the increase in spend is largely driven by tactical approaches such as such as direct marketing and sales promotions, suggesting marketers are under pressure to drive short-term, measurable results.
Direct marketing recorded robust growth, with almost 19% of panellists reporting an increase, marking upward budget revisions in the category for the past ten quarters.
Events also saw budget increases again, although the degree to which they were raised eased again, as net balance fell to +3.9% from +5.4% in Q1.
Panellists that took part in the Bellwether survey were notably less pessimistic when evaluating financial prospects at both the company and industry level, following a quarter of deep negativity at start of the year.
At the company level, underlying data revealed that 21.9% of panel members expressed increased optimism compared to three months ago, just shy of the 24.9% indicating pessimism.