US gov't shutdown causes dip in GMI for Americas

UK — Warc’s global marketing index (GMI) has remained steady, despite a dip in the Americas linked to the 16-day US government shutdown.

The measure, which takes into account marketers’ expectations for marketing budgets, trading conditions and staffing levels – recorded a value of 54.8 in October, almost level with September’s value of 54.7.

Improvement in the headline GMI for Asia Pacific (up 3 points to 54.7 ) and Europe (up 0.2 points to 55.1 ) has helped offset a drop for the Americas (down 3.4 points to 54.4 ). This dip has been attributed primarily to the 16-day US government shutdown.

Suzy Young, data and journals director at Warc, said: “The latest data are encouraging for the global marketing industry – particularly for Europe and Asia Pacific. I would expect the dip for the Americas to correct itself in next month’s results.”