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Summary of responses to ICOM Survey—MAY 2009
40 responses
Asia/Pacific 5
EMEA 16
Latin America 8
North America 11
ICOM Survey
Economic Challenges—A Time of Innovation?
The economy—global and local—is the No. 1 topic on the minds of marketers the world over. But just how are they dealing with the economic challenges? Are they simply cutting budgets and maintaining relatively the same marketing programs at reduced spending levels or are they seeking new ways to make budgets go farther through marketing innovation?
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1. Has the economic downturn had a material impact on your clients’ marketing budgets?
Yes__5 Asia/Pacific; 15 EMEA; 8 Latin America; 9 N. Amer.
No_______(1) Ghana_____________
2. By what percent have client budgets changed on average?
Responses from Asia/Pacific agencies:
down 5%-10%
10%
10%-20%
30%
30%-50%
A/P comment: Beyond budget cuts is non payment of bills. In the real estate sector, many clients just aren’t paying.
Responses from EMEA agencies:
0%
down 5%-25%
20% (two agencies)
20%-30%
25% (two agencies)
30% (two agencies)
40%
45%
50% (four agencies)
Responses from Latin American agencies
down 14.5%
15%
20%
20%-25%
25%
30% (two agencies)
L. Amer. comment: also affected are payment terms/length of time clients are taking to pay; segments particularly affected: automotive, real estate, civil construction, steel. Others are increasing budgets, such as an underwear company, which is expanding.
Responses from North American agencies
Varies greatly
down 5%
10%-15%
15%
10%-20%
20%
25% (two agencies)
50% (two agencies)
N. Amer. comment: It's had a material impact on all clients' budgets--some have stepped up to the plate and increased marketing budgets and others have hunkered down.
3. Which of these three statements most closely describes your experience:
A. Clients have not found it necessary to change their marketing tactics
Asia/Pacific 2; EMEA 4; Latin Amer. 2; N. Amer. 0 = 8 total
B. Budget cuts and new challenges have served as catalysts for clients to come up with new ideas and experimentation to market their products
A/P 3; EMEA 6; L. Amer. 4; N. Amer. 8 = 21 total
C. Clients believe that innovation at this time may be too costly and is risky
A/P 0; EMEA 6; L. Amer. 1; N. Amer. 1 = 7 total
4. If you answered “B,” please continue. What innovative new techniques or approaches have clients undertaken together with the agency in the past six months?
Asia-Pacific
Developing greater understanding of consumer trends and buying behavior
Undertaking regional/provincial efforts outside urban area
More non – media efforts like events, promotions, which are being incorporated into a brand’s program. In the past, events were one-time projects funded by extra monies
Co – marketing and/or co – promotions with brands from other companies
More online strategies. Value-added tactical offers and discount offers made online with consumers being driven to the website by traditional media
where more details, competitions and special registration on offers are included
EMEA
Greater focus on clarity of message
Pre-testing online
More pay for performance
More below-the-line activities, digital and social media, more focus on CRM
Podcasting
A shift from purely brand building to sales-driven tactics with short-term discounting price strategies
Concentration on sales instead of branding
More openness to new media/digital, driving sales through lead generation techniques such as cold calling, emails and sales promotions that are more about sales than about brand. Harder working tactics
Latin America
Online media and concentrating on generating traffic to their Web sites
More below-the-line for short-term results
Shift towards direct efforts and word-of-mouth that generate immediate measurable results
As usual in crisis time greater investment in promotion and testing more on the Internet
North America
More in the areas of online media buying, search and social marketing.
Using social marketing venues to do market research
Moving from traditional advertising to drtv, radio and print with special training for call center operators and on-premise customer service
More money is flowing from broadcast and print and to the Web
Money moving to events or programs that drive high quality engagement with customers – webinars, lunch & learns etc. for BtoB
Greater interest in social media
Using stock video and other inexpensive forms of producing TV spots not normally used
Much more receptive to new media and PR
Experimenting with blogging and purls (personal urls) for email initiatives
5. What have been some outcomes?
Asia Pacific
Clients are increasingly willing to develop digital marketing and use it to connect with consumers
Sales for the first quarter indicate positive results
EMEA
Above-the-line campaigns are very difficult to sell for the moment. Clients are waiting to invest their budgets. Below-the-line campaigns with a quick turnover are successful
Opportunities for more PR activities and the Web
Clients are happy that top management is participating more on projects
Those that offer good discounts and move first achieve decent results
If the price is correct, people still buy
Latin America
New opportunities in social media and trade promotions. It’s more about going to where people are and giving them a reason to buy now
Greater tracking efforts to be able to react or change the formula or message
Increased integration between public relations, promotions and interactive
More work in non-mass media and below-the-line activities
North America
A program created for Siemens delivered an ROI of over 700%
For clients that are spending, the results have been amazingly successful during these times of economic uncertainty. They are seeing positive shifts in market share and are now committed to keeping the pressure on
More knowledge of ROI on marketing funds
A time of insulating relationships
Those clients that are continuing to market are preparing for substantial growth when the economy turns around
Sales have increased significantly over the past three months for a client that added funds to its Hispanic budget
6. Are they redirecting spending into new media, such as social networks?
Asia/Pacific: Yes 1 No 1 Limited 3
EMEA: Yes 7 No 4 Limited 2
L.A.: Yes 1 No 0 Limited 3
N. A.: Yes 2 No 0 Limited 6
7. If they are making tactical changes, do you see these as permanent?
Asia/Pacific: Yes 4 No 1
EMEA: Yes 3 No 4 Mixed response 7
L.A.: Yes 3 No 2
N. A. Yes 3 No 2 Mixed response 4
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