How Should Marketing Sectors Cope with Budget Cuts in 2011?

2011 is currently bringing with it greater economic headaches for businesses, with the global financial system set to struggle even with a recuperation for some countries. During these circumstances it is frequently the marketing department finances that will get hit first, and according to a IPA/BDO Bellwether survey marketing finances have fallen by 5.4% ahead of 2011, giving cause for concern for what lies ahead. So where should you seek to invest on marketing and where should you cut back in order to stabilise the books? Let's look into the alternative media and see where there are marketing opportunities in 2011. Tv TV advertising took something of a battering at the end of the last decade, and the explosion in online advertising and increase in channels because of the rise of digital Television meant that many traditional names, including ITV in the UK, were struggling to locate ad revenue. For people that can afford it however, it can still bring huge returns, even for online companies. In spite of the increase in the quantity of stations, there are still some big audiences to be had and in the UK big Saturday evening shows are being used as platforms to launch new campaigns, much as the Superbowl is in the US. The viral nature of digital advertising is seeping through to television, where advertisements with a powerful brand message are giving way to those starring loveable characters and humorous incidents to make them more memorable, leading to something of a recovery in tv marketing as we enter a new decade. It's not for everyone, but for those that are able to manage to pay for it there are still some huge gains to be made from promoting your services on the TV. Advertising On the internet Internet advertising is a dream for those marketing departments that have suffered cutbacks, with a whole world of cost-effective and effective possibilities available through the web. There are many avenues for businesses to explore, from creating commercials through YouTube to increasing your presence through social media, utilizing the search engines with an SEO programme and developing an online PR strategy. It has already led to companies leaving other more established forms of marketing and the huge potential together with a reduced cost helps make for an appealing campaign for marketing departments that are guarding the pennies. Newspaper Marketing From the new boy in town we come to one of the oldest kinds of marketing and the one that is struggling the most as a result of advances in technology. Circulation figures are down across the board and those companies that were once keen to pay big money for advertising space are now deciding to utilize other avenues with a lower price and higher Return on investment. It looks set to be worse in the year, with smaller marketing budgets making this staple of the advertising arena appear very unappealing, and utilising a successful PR strategy to acquire column inches without the outlay could appear to be a more effective way of utilizing the newspapers with a smaller budget. Brand Awareness The concept of having a strong brand continues to be as crucial as ever, and despite the viral nature of advertisements taking the strength of the brand out of the advertising, it’s still important to maintain a memorable brand if the campaign is going to achieve success. There is no sense in commissioning a fancy advert if no one is going to remember who it is promoting, and getting people to recall and engage with the company is important if sales are going to rise. Using orbital strategies to enhance the brand and get people engaging with the company are vital if prospective customers are going to decide to commit their money. Use social media to talk to customers and corporate gifts to give them a real attachment to your campaign and you will go a long way in the direction of improving conversions. 2011 looks set to be another challenging year, but for the clever marketer there are always possibilities out there. Look meticulously at your marketing strategy to see ways you can squeeze the very most out of what you have and make this year as profitable as it can be.

Alan contributes articles regarding details concerning the promotional gifts arena on behalf of The Corporate Gifts Company.