Sorrell: “The Ad Market’s As Strong As I’ve Seen It In 45 Years!”

Sir Martin Sorrell appears to have put the woes of 2020 well and truly behind him, declaring the current advertising market as the best conditions he’s seen in 45 years. That’s 1976!

And it appears the 76-year-old advertising sage has the numbers to back the claim.

Over the weekend his new digital-led venture, S4 Capital, posted growth of 90 per cent in the first four months of 2021.

As of the beginning of May, S4 reported like-for-like revenue growth of 35 per cent to $US169.3 million ($A219 million) in the first quarter, while gross profit rose 33 per cent to $US144.4 million ($A186 million).

On the back of the numbers, Sorrel telling the UK’s The Mail On Sunday: “The advertising market is as strong as I have seen it in 45 years. It’s the snapback effect after what happened last year. It’s huge.

“After all, when was the last time that global GDP went up by five to six per cent in a year? And then it will be four to five per cent next year. The big question will then be, do we have to pay for it in 2023? We’ll see what happens.”

On S4’s impressive numbers, Sorrell added: “We had a strong first four months of the year. We had a very strong April – embarrassingly strong, in fact – and May, similarly, has been very good. It’s very encouraging and motivating.”

Sorrell was also buoyed by the advertising opportunities presented by the current UEFA European Football Championship and the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games.

The comments appear to mirror similar optimism from WPP supremo Mark Read who has predicted the UK ad market would grow 13 per cent in 2021 and an impressive 15 per cent in the US.

In further S4 news, Sorrell has predicted that working from home – or a hybrid model – would become the new norm and, in doing so, saving agencies a tonne in rent.

“We always knew that our people, being digital natives, would adapt effortlessly and productively to working from home and, as a result, we are further developing a hybrid office model, which accommodates those of our people who want to work more from home and who want to commute more flexibly, and provides spaces for working, interacting with colleagues and interacting with clients,” he said, his comments reported in the UK media.

He added: “We have terminated a number of office leases, which will enable us to integrate our operations even faster than we originally thought.”

S4’s AGM is happening about now in London. As a prequel to the meeting, S4 released a statement that read: “2020 was a very busy third year for S4 Capital, both organically and through mergers, and the tempo has been maintained, as growth rates have accelerated.”

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