71% of Marketing Budgets Have Been Cut

About 71 percent of chief marketing officers say they have seen marketing budgets reduced,

and 51 percent have seen cuts of at least 20 percent, say respondents to a recent Forrester

Research survey.

TV, print, radio and magazine spending has taken the biggest hit, with budget decreases of 67

percent. Branding and advertising budgets have been cut 64 percent, respondents say.

About 52 percent have reduced spending on direct mail. In fact, virtually every category studied by Forrester Research has declined this year.

But a significant percentage of respondents also report they plan to increase nspending in a few

categories. About 47 percent of marketers say they will increase spending on social media,

Web site development, online advertising, and email marketing.

That marketing budgets have been cut should come as no surprise. That happens whenever there is an economic or industry downturn. Nor should the shift of spending towards online, mobile or social media provide much of a surprise. That simply is where users are spending more of their time.

Over the long term, marketing effort always follows audiences.