Marketing and ad budget cutbacks inevitable

But, hopefully this time round far more CEO's and financial directors will have come to grips with the realities of marketing and while they might well decide to cut back on marketing spend, particularly advertising, they will at the same time compensate by looking at the efficiency of their marketing strategy.

They will hopefully be aware of the fact that 20 per cent of all advertising in SA not only fails but actually damages the brand that it is promoting. They will hopefully be aware of the fact that somewhere in the region of R50 billion in marketing expenditure is wasted every year in this country.

They will be doing themselves and their marketing suppliers and agencies a service by having a long hard look at the efficiency of their current marketing strategy. They will commission marketing audits to not only look at the efficiency of expenditure and strategy but also of the relationship between their brand management and marketing suppliers such as advertising agencies.

It is during the bad times that marketing needs to be regarded as a process of ensuring that every element that is used for getting goods and services to the consumer is cross-checked, double checked and subjected to a stringent marketing checklist to ensure maximum efficiency.

Marketing, and not the great advertising idea, needs to become the starting point… Going back to basics, getting all the elements of the marketing mix in line and then applying creative advertising within the context of a marketing plan.

Big advertising ideas borne out of well planned marketing are the kind of advertising ideas that work.