Survey Records Shift in Blue Chip Marketing Spend to INTERACTIVE!

New Epsilon CMO Survey Highlights Shift to Digital Marketing;
Decrease in traditional Marketing Budget


NEW YORK, NY — September 8, 2008 — Chief Marketing Officers at many of the biggest brands in the nation are seeing a major shift in the marketing landscape. Almost two-thirds (63%) of the 175 marketing executives surveyed see an increase in their spending on interactive/digital marketing while 59% report a decrease in traditional marketing spend.

The survey additionally describes the tough challenges that top CMOs face in this current economic climate: 65% say that the money spent on advertising as a whole will decrease due to the current economy. In contrast, 94% of CMOs and marketing executives agreed with the statement, 'A tough economic period is precisely the time when marketing plays a key role.'

CMOs are shifting to more targeted and measurable marketing strategies. When asked how their firm determines their target market for each channel, 50% stated that they use data driven marketing techniques: 31% of respondents agreed with the statement: &quote You use sophisticated modeling tools to analyze existing customer data (behavioral, preference and demographic) 'and 19% said that they 'analyze past purchase behavior. 'In contrast, 28% said they made 'rough estimates based on past experience.'

According to Mike Iaccarino, CEO of Epsilon, a leading marketing services firm, "Epsilon's first survey of the nation's Chief Marketing Officers presents a unique look at the changing dynamics of the marketing landscape. In this economic climate, marketing executives are seeking accountability and measurable results. Data driven marketing is an increasingly important component of corporate marketing campaigns as senior marketers employ sophisticated segmentation strategies to recruit and retain customers."

The survey was conducted in August 2008. Participants included 175 U.S. Chief Marketing Officers and marketing executives of some of the largest brands in the nation. 27% of respondents work at companies with $10 billion or more in annual revenues last year.


Marketing Mix:

CMOs of the biggest brands have been early adopters of new media with social computing and blogs receiving the most interest whereas instant messaging and interactive TV ads were the least popular.

* Social computing (including word of mouth, social networking sites, viral advertising, etc.) was the most popular emerging channel with 42% of marketing executives expressing interest in adding it to their marketing mix.
* Blogs were the second most popular emerging channel: 35% of marketing executives want to pursue blogs and 19% already use blogs
* Almost one-third of CMOs mentioned Podcasting as an area of interest: 31% are interested in adding Podcasting to their marketing mix and 18% already have.
* Mobile devices also elicited interest: 29% are interested in Mobile Devices (Phones/PDAs) and 22% have added them to their marketing mix.