So we now know that the government has boosted its annual overall advertising and marketing spend, by 43% to £540m in the 12 months to the end of March. This is a controversial outlay considering the country’s current economic woes and swingeing spending cuts for public services looming large on the horizon.

But there are two sides to every story. No one can argue that the government does have a tricky task mopping the fevered brow of a nation under duress from swine flu panic and ongoing financial disasters. These issues alone require constant communication with the public, and some sections of society perhaps justifiably believe that helpful messages still aren’t reaching them at vital times.

From a PR point of view, the government remains one of the industry’s biggest paymasters. The COI figures reveal that spend on news and PR grew by 52% year on year from £26.9m to £40.9m. It’s interesting to note also that digital marketing spend rose by 84% to £40m. I’m sure some of this wad was splashed out on combined campaigns, harnessing the growing power and reach of joint PR and online messaging.

COI chief executive and advertising grandee Mark Lund believes “the need for government to communicate with the public is greater than ever as society faces challenges such as obesity, climate change and the recession – government campaigns can help save lives and save money.” Assuming COI doesn’t enter General Election purdah before the financial year ends, could it be that we will see the PR budget rise even more sharply next year?

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Tags: advertising, campaigns, Central Office of Information, COI, digital marketing, Economic climate, financial disasters, financial year, General Election, government spend, Mark Lund, marketing, messages, outreach, PR, PR budget, PR spend, public communication, society, spend, swine flu
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