• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, January 20, 2017

On the eve of Donald J. Trump’s inauguration as President of the United States of America, we surveyed industry executives -- both advertisers and agencies -- to find out how they felt the Trump Administration would impact their lives, both personally and professionally.

Overall, Madison Avenue pros are more upbeat on how Trump’s presidency will impact them professionally, than personally.

Asked to rate their professional expectations on a scale from one to five (with five being best and one being worst), 38% of all respondents picked the top two boxes (better), while only 28% selected the bottom two boxes (worse). Thirty-four percent were neutral, picking the middle box.

The survey, which was conducted by Advertiser Perceptions Inc. earlier this month, generated 312 responses. But there was a marked difference among agency versus client responses.

While 47% of marketers believe the Trump Administration will be better for them professionally, only 32% of agency executives responded that way.

In terms of how Trump’s presidency will affect them personally, there was an even more pronounced difference.

Among overall respondents, the better/worse dynamic shifted on a personal basis, with 33% of respondents seeing some upside personally, while 39% feel Trump will be worse for them personally.

Looking at marketers versus agency executives, the differences in personal sentiment is even more pronounced. While 44% of clients picked the top two boxes, only 26% of agency executives selected them.

Conversely, only 31% of marketers picked the bottom two boxes, while 45% of agency executives picked the bottom two.