Online Marketing Budgets Holding Up in Economic Downturn
Despite a worsening US economy, the portion of marketing budgets devoted to online marketing has remained strong, according to a May 2008 study by The CMO Club. Seventy-one percent of chief marketing officers surveyed do not plan on cutting their overall marketing budget, while only 14 percent said they would. When asked to specify which portions of their budget they are least likely to cut, the CMOs named online marketing and search engine marketing.
Online advertising is perhaps more recession-resistant due to its higher levels of precision and accountability. When CMOs face increased pressure to show how their expenditures are driving revenues, they are likely to choose advertising solutions that are highly quantifiable. Similarly, they are likely to gravitate toward advertising strategies that provide a high level of transparency concerning where, when and how their brand message is appearing. Vertical ad networks, such as those that run on the Adify platform, provide an attractive combination of precision and transparency.