Mixed News Globally, but U.S. Growth Could Net Jobs

Year-end financials are rolling in for the world's biggest advertising holding companies, reflecting a generally upbeat, pro-employment mood in the United States. But worldwide figures were tempered by a stunning loss reported last week by Paris-based Havas.

(PRWEB) March 14, 2004 --Year-end financials are rolling in for the world's biggest advertising holding companies, reflecting a generally upbeat, pro-employment mood in the United States. But worldwide figures were tempered by a stunning loss reported last week by Paris-based Havas.

New York-based Omnicom Group Inc., reported a 14.4 percent worldwide revenue increase, from $7.5 billion in 2002 to $8.6 billion in 2003. Net income was up 5 percent to $676 million. London-based WPP Group traced 48 percent of its operating profit to business in North America. The company's net profit more than doubled from 2002 results to $388 million in 2003.

Meanwhile, France's Havas foundered. The holding company reported a net loss of $475 million in 2003, compared with an almost $50 million profit in 2002, reported Adweek.

Still, Neal Burns, an advertising professor at the University of Texas at Austin and director of its Center for Brand Research, remained optimistic about employment potential in the United States

"If I had to net it out, I'd say, yeah, I think things are going to go up, but I don't think the staffs are going to be as large as they were before they cut back" a few years ago, he said. "A lot of the management middle layers are gone."

Some regional agencies are still struggling, Burns noted, while some specialty areas, such as multi-cultural marketing, are particularly hot.

Formerly a senior partner and director of research and account planning at Carmichael Lynch Inc., Burns said he considers calls from advertising recruiters a bellwether. "Now I'm getting a call or two a week. And last year I got very few calls," he said.

"The fact that we're seeing some small increases in demands for account planners . there's a sense that's a fairly significant move," he said.