The WFA’s most recent Covid-19 tracker, which surveyed 35 advertisers across eight sectors, found that four in 10 respondents are continuing to delay their advertising spend – down slightly from 52% in the previous wave of the research.

However, 78% of respondents in the survey said they had ‘response campaigns’ live in May, up from 32% in March and 68% in April.

Around half ( 51%) of respondents were not positive about the current business environment, and fewer than a third ( 27%) were positive about the next six months.  

More than half ( 53%) of advertisers surveyed said they had updated scopes so that they can continue working with agencies on a remote basis, and 53% said they had continued with planned pitch activity, according to the research.

Stephan Loerke, chief executive of the WFA, said: “We expect advertisers to remain cautious but many are preparing plans for recovery. A more tactical approach, where opportunities for more flexible, short-term buying become available, is likely to be key to building confidence for a return to higher levels of advertising investment.”