6104: Bad Ad News.

From The New York Post…

AD BIGS SEE DOWNTURN, LAYOFFS INTO 2009

By Holly M. Sanders

Ad chiefs are taking a dim view of the fourth quarter and beyond and are bracing for cutbacks, including more layoffs.

Three agency holding companies — Interpublic, Britain’s Aegis and French firm Publicis — reported solid third-quarter results yesterday but said the ad business is looking a lot shakier headed into 2009.

Interpublic CEO Michael Roth said clients canceled some projects in recent weeks and marketers became cautious as the financial meltdown spread to the broader economy.

“We’re seeing it beginning to weigh on marketers’ plans for both the fourth quarter and 2009,” he said.

Despite strong third-quarter results, Interpublic saw softness in financial services and automotive, as well as slowing in Europe and Japan.

Wachovia analyst John Janedis, who cut his growth forecasts for the company, said he expects a more “broad-based pullback” in 2009.

Interpublic, which owns creative agency McCann Erickson and ad-buying firm Universal McCann, said it was prepared to reduce staffing if necessary.

Rival WPP Group, which is scheduled to report earnings tomorrow, has had a hiring freeze in place since the start of the year. Chief Martin Sorrell has already said he expects 2009 to be rough.

Last week, Omnicom, the world’s largest ad agency holding company, said clients in the automotive and retail sectors had begun to cut spending. Omnicom agencies such as TBWA and Fathom Communications have trimmed jobs.

Across the pond, Publicis Chairman and CEO Maurice Levy predicted a “marked slowdown” in the ad industry next year. Revenue fell 1.5 percent in the third quarter for the group, including ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi and media giant Starcom MediaVest.

Meanwhile, Aegis, whose holdings include media planner Carat, said it was having a hard time forecasting clients’ spending for the fourth quarter.

Already, there have been cutbacks at the major media agencies.

In the US, Carat cut around 75 jobs because of client losses. Publicis’ Starcom plans to slash about 150 jobs by the end of the year, mostly because of cutbacks at major client General Motors. WPP’s Mindshare has trimmed fewer than 10 jobs.