By Bill Duggan
ANA recently fielded the fourth wave of what has become known as our “recession survey.” Over the past two years ANA has polled our members at six month intervals to determine how marketing and advertising budgets are being impacted by economic conditions.
The recession may be officially over, but it appears that marketers have reset their expectations and a greater degree of frugality has set in. Cost savings and reductions may be the “new normal” even as the economy improves. However, the deepest cuts are likely to have already been made.
Highlights from the most recent survey:
- Marketers are still being pressured to reduce their costs and spending in light of the economy, though reductions are less severe than were reported in the three previous surveys.
- The top four ways marketers are reducing costs and spending:
1. 75 percent are challenging agencies to reduce internal expenses and/or identify cost reductions.
2. 73 percent are reducing departmental travel and expenses.
3. 53 percent are reducing advertising media budgets.
4. 50 percent are reducing advertising production budgets. - Though the majority of marketers forecast no change in spending for the balance of 2009, predictions about advertising budgets in the next six months suggest some degree of optimism since the last survey.
1. 59 percent expect budgets will stay the same.
2. 22 percent forecast that budgets will be reduced (versus 39 percent, 49 percent, and 53 percent respectively in the last three surveys).
3. 19 percent are hopeful budgets will increase.
Full survey results are available at www.ana.net/recessionsurvey.
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