The AdAge article from yesterday ("Advertisers Ready for Age of Austerity") could have easily read "Advertisers Ready for Age of Accountability."
The key line in the introduction of the article "... marketers are making moves to slash marketing spending, or at least apply tougher financial discipline to what they do spend" could prove profitable for companies that can deliver solid ROI. [The good news is, as an agency, The Marketing Arm (tma) is well on its way to both delivering and documenting a positive effect on the bottom line.]
Second, it's important to point out that two of the blue-chip companies in the article are operating in severe crisis modes that aren't necessarily reflective of the state of marketing. GM's revenues and profits have nose-dived and A-B had been battling InBev. Both companies are reacting to highly unusual events.
As for Coke and P&G, both have been publicly calling for accountability and ROI standards for at least five years and look like they'll be shifting and reallocating marketing money.
Third, while there's no question that the economy and the general state of the nation is making everyone question expenses, marketing is essential to product sales. In the short term, sales should trump image-making as a marketing goal. Marketing's alignment with sales might be the anthem of a new reality. Money will be spent, it's just a matter of spending wisely — and proving it.
Fourth, from a competitive standpoint, if other marketers cut back on their marketing, it may make some sense to conduct an offensive spending strategy, or at least explore alternative marketing (promotion, experiential/emotional methods, engagement tactics) vs. traditional advertising. Of course, this strategy depends on the brand, but it’s certainly an option worth considering.
Finally, RE: “Ad Spending Forecasts,” there are at least three leading public forecasters for traditional ad spending — Robert Coen, Jack Myers, and Zenith Optimedia. However, they're generally focused on ad media expenditures, not promotions. There are differences among their predictions (and in the case of Myers vs. Coen, there is open disagreement).
Even though the headlines talk about spending forecasts being revised downward, the commonly-held bottom line is that some growth is predicted for next year.
