The new reality: Why advertisers are shrugging off global macro uncertainty

The Iran war has pushed energy prices up around much of the world and could drag interest rates higher in many countries, squeezing consumer wallets from London to Seoul. Advertisers, broadly, don’t seem to be flinching.

In fact, it appears that advertisers in Britain and beyond have maintained and even increased ad budgets as they become used to navigating macro uncertainty, according to the latest IPA Bellwether Report in the U.K., as well as Publicis and Havas’ Q1 2026 earnings reports.

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising’s latest quarterly survey in the U.K. found that a net balance of 7.3% of respondents increased their budgets in Q1; 26.8% of panelists reported an increase in marketing spend while 19.5% recorded a reduction.

This marked the highest net balance figure in nearly two years, with budgets still expected to rise over the coming year despite the macro headwinds. The IPA singled out investment in video as one of the bright spots.

On the agency side, Publicis reported 6.2% organic net revenue growth in the U.K., which contributed to an uplift of 3.9% in Europe. It reported 4.7% growth in the U.S. and 5.9% in APAC.

Part of Publicis’ growth could be attributed to its recent string of account wins. Still, the positive trajectory tracks with Havas’ performance, too, as the agency group reported stable performance in the U.K. and a 1.1% increase in organic net revenue growth in Europe.

Havas reported 7.4% growth in North America, and while its APAC performance was down, executives said they expect positive organic growth for the full year of 2026.

Arthur Sadoun, chairman and CEO of Publicis, said the seemingly counterintuitive dynamic was due to advertisers growing accustomed to uncertainty.

“What I can tell you is that after COVID, after the war in Ukraine, after tariffs, after inflation, and now with the Middle East conflict, I would say that our clients, and you have seen that, are used to navigating uncertainty. This is a reality,” he said during the company’s latest earnings call this week.

Xavier Mayer, head of investor relations at Havas, said during the company’s earnings call this week that the holdco would “confirm our full year 2026 guidance” despite the uncertain macro environment.

The macro picture could get worse in the coming months — with some in the U.K. warning that the “worst is yet to come” — but the industry’s mindset toward conserving budgets during tough times may have shifted for good, influenced by years of turmoil.

By Sadoun’s telling, advertisers seem to have accepted that pulling back budgets now would mean an expensive uphill battle to regain market share later.

“It’s incredibly strange to see how much they can take and continue to go on, because, by the way, they know that if they cut marketing spend, they will lose market share,” he said. “That would be very expensive and very difficult to win back. This is why we have not seen any significant reduction in marketing budget in Q1.”