By Melissa Campanelli
May 22, 2008
Despite reports to the contrary, marketing budgets haven't been affected by the recent economic downturn, at least according to a survey of 100 chief marketing officers conducted by The CMO Club, a professional association exclusively for chief marketing officers.
According to the survey, which was released earlier this week, 71 percent of respondents said their marketing budgets have not been reduced in 2008. Moreover, only 14 percent of those who said they had seen a budget cut attributed the cut to recessionary pressures.
When asked which line items on their budgets would be cut first in the event that the weakness in the economy persists, the CMOs surveyed cited advertising and mass marketing strategies most frequently. Thirty two percent of survey respondents said mass market strategies would be cut first, followed by trade shows (8 percent) and events (6 percent).
Online strategies such as search engine optimization and online marketing campaigns, however, were cited most frequently as the least likely items to be cut, even under increased budget pressure. Public relations campaigns followed online strategies among the marketing programs that will continue to receive funding in a down market.
