Marketing budget optimists

Is there something irrepressibly optimistic about marketers? Careful with the slightly misleading headline in Marketing Week about low confidence ( Marketing Week on Bellweather Report – Confidence.), because the budgets that have been set are more bullish than ursine.

The article goes on to say that, yes, they are spending less – again – but:
“Budgets for 2011 have been set higher than actual spend in 2010 on average, with 39% of respondents planning to increase spend against 22% that predict a decline. However, the growth is still very small compared to pre-2008 figures.” [Shore Qual’s bold]

Given the economic context, I’d say this shows a remarkably forward-looking perspective. Evidence perhaps that marketing’s long haul towards the centre of business planning has made some progress? It is only common sense, but a common sense that perhaps didn’t prevail in many previous tough economic periods.