You want more gloomy news about the advertising market in 2009? You got it!

A survey from the UK-based Institute of Practitioners in Advertising claims that almost half of companies cut their ad budgets in Q4 2008.

Its Bellwether report found that out of 300 companies surveyed, just 21 (7 per cent) increased their ad spends during the fourth quarter.

What's more, initial budgets for 2009 are apparently being set below 2008 levels for the first time since the survey started in 2000, with "no quick return to growth for marketing spend".

As ever when we report on these kind of predictions, our focus is on what this means for the mobile games industry, and specifically those startups and publishers who see ad-funded games as a potentially lucrative revenue stream.

With budgets being cut across the advertising industry, anyone pitching mobile games as an advertising channel will have to work harder this year, it seems.