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Last week's Bellwether Report, which
surveys marketing budgets and confidence shows that expenditure has
increased, but business optimism continues to fall.
After three quarters of decline, marketing budgets were revised
up as companies looked to promote new products and maintain market
share amid strong competitive pressure.
For the first time since Q2 2007, budgets for all sectors were
revised up. The internet saw the biggest increase and the largest
quarter-on-quarter jump in the history of the Bellwether Report
with a net balance of 16.6%. Mainstream media spend was slow,
indicating a shift to online. Direct marketing spend was also up
and sales promotion and 'all other' (below the line) recorded
growth for the first time in 15 and 16 quarters respectively.
Yet, despite the positive figures, business optimism fell and
the degree of optimism was the second lowest since Q1 2009.
IPA president Nicola Mendelsohn said that the further decline in
confidence '...continues to reflect the uncertain financial climate
that businesses are operating in... This rise in spend demonstrates
that many companies are trying to buck the downward trend. It is a
move in the right direction and shows that businesses understand
that those that maintain the strongest market spend will come out
on top.'
While I agree with her comments that we need to do all we can,
it is the companies that spend their marketing budgets
wisely that will benefit the most. Using a mix of
communication channels will usually deliver the greatest success.
It's important that companies consider which tools they use and how
best to use them, whether traditional advertising, PR, direct
marketing or pay-per-click. Think of it as a list of ingredients
-how they come together and complement each other creates a
successful recipe.
The industry is constantly evolving, even more so in the current
economic climate, and that requires communication specialists to be
smarter than ever before. Companies need to carefully plan,
constantly evaluate and change with the market otherwise their
competitors will reap the rewards.
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