These are uncertain times for the U.S. economy. Job growth has been robust and retail sales are strong, but while inflation has moderated, in January it remained higher than projected. Despite the ambiguous outlook, data shows that, for the most part, ad executives remain bullish in 2023.

Advertiser Attitudes

Data from Advertiser Perceptions, a business intelligence firm serving the advertising, marketing and ad technology industries, found a clear majority of advertising executives were planning to maintain or increase their spending in 2023 from 2022’s levels.

  • 54% said budgets would remain the same.
  • 30% said budgets would increase.
  • 10% said budgets would be cut.
  • 6% were unsure.

Advertiser Perceptions noted that the optimism about their “business climate” is stronger among advertisers compared to media agencies. While 37% of respondents were optimistic about first quarter 2023, advertisers’ confidence was 21% ahead of the agencies.

The company surveyed more than 300 advertiser and media agency executives in December 2022 for its study.

The Promo Perspective

The study’s findings align with PPAI’s own findings in the Association’s 2022 Distributor Sales Volume Estimate. The promotional products market reached $25 billion in 2022 and with almost 70% of distributors predicting higher sales this year, 2023 could be another one for the record books.

The survey found that 86% of large distributors – distributor companies with $2.5 million or more in annual sales – expect greater sales in 2023 compared to 2022. Smaller distributors were also largely optimistic, with 64% predicting greater sales this year.