UK marketing executives cut their budgets for the third quarter running in the three months to the end of June, as business confidence fell to its lowest point in more than two years and fears over the outlook for the economy worsened, according to the latest Bellwether survey.

The influential report, jointly produced by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising and BDO, found that marketing executives slashed their budgets in the second quarter of 2011 as companies attempted to reduce operating costs and protect profit margins amid concerns around the economic outlook.

The quarterly Bellwether survey found 22% of UK companies reported that they cut their budgets in the second quarter. It is the third consecutive quarter that more UK marketers cut budgets than raised them.

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