Economic Downturn Slices Corporate Marketing Budgets
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by: Marsha Friedman
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Tampa, FL – American companies are tightening their advertising budgets and finding new ways to entice customers amid nationwide economic woes. MarketingSherpa’s 2008 “Marketing During an Economic Downturn” survey reports 60-percent of large companies are significantly shrinking traditional type marketing budgets this year.
"What happens is that the current economic crisis puts pressure on advertisers to save money and find more effective marketing channels," said Karsten Weide, program director of Digital Marketplace and New Media at IDC.
While much of what is left of the marketing budget is being filtered into online media, traditional advertising like newspapers are facing the biggest dip in revenue in 50 years according to The Newspaper Association of America (NAA).
This advertising cutback is prompting many businesses to seek out cost-effective alternatives, such as PR, to build their small and mid-sized businesses into larger ones.
Although corporations may understand the power of public relations, many assume that a media-focused PR campaign is beyond their fiscal reach. This comes down to the fact that most traditional public relations firms charge hefty monthly retainers without offering any guaranteed results.
Yet, when it comes to PR the results are all that matter. Executives are demanding more bang out of every buck, with none of them wanting to pay for pitches that don’t pan out. At the end of the day, executives and decision makers need to know that their financial investment will be rewarded with a measurable return.
None of this is news to Marsha Friedman, CEO of EMSI (Event Management Services Inc.). A pioneer in pay-for-performance PR, her firm has been delivering guaranteed results for their television and talk radio campaigns for nearly twenty years. To her, there’s nothing “trendy” about it.
Friedman says, “While most PR firms want to be paid for the entire campaign procedure, the philosophy of our firm is to only get paid for the media exposure we obtain. We developed a fee structure based on the delivery of radio and TV appearances, which forces daily focus on the end result instead of the process. Let's face it. In this economy, when it comes to PR, clients are hungry for tangible results."
A growing number of marketing departments and CEOs across the nation are sitting up and taking notice. In these critical economic times, marketing dollars are a precious commodity and must be invested wisely.
About the Author
Marsha Friedman is a prominent business woman, publicity expert, radio personality and public speaker. Her company EMSI (Event Management Services, Inc) is a national public relations firm. Launched in 1990 her firm represents corporations and experts in a wide array of fields such as business, health and fitness, food and beverage, travel and lifestyle, politics, technology, finance, law, sports and entertainment. Some of the more prominent names on her client roster are Teamster’s President, Jimmy Hoffa Jr.; Former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane and the famous Motown Group, the Temptations. She consults individuals and businesses on a daily basis and is frequently asked to speak at conferences about how to harness the power of publicity. Visit her online at www.emsincorporated.com.
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