Get your ice cream while you can

The downturned economy may have finally rocked the agency world, as industry execs observe a decline in client spending in all regions except emerging markets.

About half (46%) of North American ad agency CEOs report that their clients have cut spending since a year ago, AdAge writes, citing a Worldwide Partners survey of 90 agency CEOs. Just one in ten said their clients are putting more money into marketing.

The global outlook, however, is a bit easier on the eyes, with spending cuts observed by 38% of all CEOs surveyed. And those in emerging markets (e.g., Asia Pacific, Latin America) were downright hopeful, saying their clients were expanding more internationally.

Most CEOs thought their condition would stay the same or improve (38 percent and 39 percent, respectively). Just 10 percent of North American CEOs thought conditions would worsen.

Agency staffing won't suffer from the cuts, the survey found. Less than one-fifth of CEOs anticipate layoffs - in fact, 44% of them intend to hire staff next year (37% globally plan to do so).

In a separate May survey of company CMOs, nearly 7 in 10 repsondents indicated that they intend to maintain the use of outside marketing services, so agencies themselves may not be fearing the pink slip - yet.

When asked to serve up some advice on how to increase marketing success, agency execs said to "embrace digital media 100%." They also recommended investing in global diversification, being more integrated in all marketing activities, and executing research and focus on compelling product benefits.