The World Advertising Research Centers research director Colin Macleod said that in 2004 there should be a return to the kind of growth levels not seen since the boom of 2000.

There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel although there have been some false dawns before. But it looks like after a tough two years that theres improvement, said Macleod.

He said a 6% rise in advertising spend next year would eclipse this years below-inflation 1% growth, and print could expect a similar increase.

Figures from the Advertising Association show that national newspapers experienced an inflation-adjusted decrease of 7.4% during the second quarter of 2003. Spending on business magazines fell 7.8% in the same period, while direct mail increased by only 0.4%.

Global advertising group WPP has reported an 11% rise in third-quarter revenues to 1.02bn, with its UK business increasing by 6% to 166.4m.

WPP predicted better prospects for 2004 with the forthcoming US presidential election, Athens Olympics and European Football Championships. It also thought that increased marketing and advertising spend in the US would spill over to Europe.