OK, so the economy sucks, and we've all lost a good amount of money in our investment portfolios. And yet, a whole lot of television commercials, billboards, print ads and radio spots are hounding us about "re-balancing our portfolios."
It got me thinking. Shouldn't smart marketers also consider re-balancing their marketing budgets as a result of these trying economic times?
Just because you've ALWAYS done something one way doesn't mean you need to go on repeating the same thing over and over. Remember Einstein's definition of insanity -- doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
If you want to change your marketing results, it just may be time to re-balance your marketing portfolio.
Several new and existing clients have come to us recently asking us to take a look at their overall marketing expenditures. In every case we were able to point out a large number of wasted expenditures -- primarily advertising buys that remain on schedules because they've "always been there," or because "the ad rep buys me a bottle of Maker's Mark every Christmas."
But the world has changed. Unless you are confident that ALL of your marketing and communication expenditures are delivering a real return on your investment (and not just another cost headed straight to the wrong side of the balance sheet), it's probably time to change your way of thinking too.
In flush times, it's easy to just continue doing what you've always done, because, well, we were all making good money, right? And what "worked" from a marketing standpoint wasn't nearly as critical as it is now, during the "Great Recession."
I am 100% confident that a sound, strategic PR program delivers substantial ROI -- well in excess of its cost, and far greater than many advertising-heavy plans. Ping me if you want to learn more.
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2 comments:
My guess is that you would like the balance of marketing budgets to go from 90% media and 10% PR. To 90%PR and 10% media. Good idea. People today believe less and less what they are told in ads by big companies and more and more what they are told by word of mouth (read PR) but good luck. The corporate world still likes their slick ad campaigns!
As my sainted mother used to say, "Your lips to God's Ears!"
I am a firm believer in the laws of nature. Inertia of motion tells us that objects in motion tend to stay in motion until acted upon by an outside force. Yes, ad budgets (and the corporate infrastructure that supports them) are still very much "in motion." I'm hopeful that smart folks like us can at least begin to exert the outside force that results in a more effective balance going forward.
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