Creative Direction Marketing ServicesCREATIVE SERVICES



A marketing driven and full featured e-commerce web site for FlowerArt.net headquartered in Kokomo, Indiana.











CREATIVE DIRECTION NEWS

B2B survey reveals a surprising increase in spending in 2009 with a priority on online marketing and direct mail.

Kokomo, IN / January 5, 2009 - Creative Direction's increase in online marketing (65%) and direct mail (39%) activity for 2008 is running parallel to the emerging trend of B2B marketers in 2009. According to the 2009 B2B magazine Marketing Priorities and Plans Survey conducted last November, 31.1% of the respondents plan to increase their marketing budgets in the coming year.

The survey reported that online marketing is the clear category leader with 66.5% of B2B marketers planning to increase internet spending. The survey also pointed out that two traditional forms of marketing that will see the most increase in marketing spending in 2009 are direct mail (36.9%) and events (31%). The increase in event marketing will be by companies implementing virtual event marketing programs using web conference technology for face-to-face meetings in order to save time and money.

The reasons? First, online marketing costs less than traditional media. Second, there are more opportunities to develop new ideas online to better communicate in today's business culture. Third, the responses from web programs are trackable in terms of ROI and target audience response. And fourth, direct mail - as the largest form of advertising - is still the leader in identifying prospects and generating leads that result in sales. In the survey, respondents reported that the largest increase in budgeted online money will be spent on developing e-mail marketing at 68.3% with the second highest increase going to web site marketing at 66.3%. In addition, 50% of companies surveyed plan to increase their use of video online by 46.6% and social media by 46.6%.

The biggest surprise? Regardless of the current economic climate, only 25% of the B2B companies surveyed plan to cut marketing budgets. The largest cut in spending will be in print advertising at 33.2%. The survey also found that most companies (43.5%) plan to keep their budgets at the same level as 2008. And despite the economy, 69% of B2B marketers will be introducing new marketing and ad campaigns this year.

The primary goal of B2B marketers in 2009? Companies are looking for more new business as customer acquisition is reported to be the number one marketing goal of nearly two-thirds (62.2%) of business-to-business companies in 2009. Customer retention was the number two focus at 20.6%. Brand awareness followed at 12.4%. Other miscellaneous goals were stated by 4.8% of those surveyed.

Dedicated to help businesses grow, Creative Direction is a marketing communications practice specializing in direct marketing and is headquartered in central Indiana with offices in Florida and central Kentucky. The company has provided direct mail, online marketing, broadcast, print advertising, outdoor, public relations, corporate identity, collateral, e-commerce and other services to a diverse roster of clients in a wide variety of industries. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.CreativeDirection.com. To contact Creative Direction, call 765-883-8431 or send e-mail to Info@CreativeDirection.com.

Creative Direction News Archives