The survey of around 300 British-based companies for the IPA/BDO Bellwether report found 25 percent had cut spending compared with 20 percent that reported an increase.
The net balance of -5.1 percent was the second-lowest in five quarters, it said, and only marginally better than the fourth quarter, which was the lowest at -5.4 percent.
“The reduction in marketing budgets for the second successive quarter supports our anecdotal evidence that companies are taking a cautious approach to marketing expenditure,” said Andy Viner, head of media at BDO.
Viner said companies were cautious against a backdrop of continuing economic uncertainty, subdued business confidence and mixed fiscal indicators in recent weeks.
The report said marketing budgets were also being trimmed in a bid to protect margins at a time of increasing cost pressures.
The economy shrank by 0.5 percent in the final quarter of last year and recent mixed economic news has sparked fears about its condition although inflation did ease unexpectedly in March to 4 percent, the first fall since last summer.
