Promo - March 2009 - (Page 6)

www.promomagazine.com A Penton Media publication EDITORIAL PROMO Executive Editor Patricia Odell Senior Editor Amy Johannes Reporter Richard Tedesco Patricia Odell / E xe cutive Editor Editor’s note Editor-at-Large, Promo and Direct Brian Quinton DESIGN/PRODUCTION Art Director Jed Davis ADVERTISING Associate Publisher Bryan Benjamin bryan.benjamin@penton.com Account Executive Tim Lyons tim.lyons@penton.com Stimulus Package Promotion gets its due in tough times The recession continues to hammer the marketing industry. And whatever cautious optimism marketers had six or so months ago has morphed to survival mode. A study released last month by the Association of National Advertisers found that an increasing number of marketers plan to cut costs, further reduce budgets and eliminate or delay some projects. These marketers also plan to put pressure on agencies to help reduce costs. And almost half said they are looking at reducing agency compensation. “It’s pretty bad,” says ANA President and CEO Bob Liodice. “The reality is the marketers’ mood is grounded in uncertainty. When you don’t know what the future is going to be, you become cautious, you hold back. You do far less because you don’t know if that’s just going to be money flying in the wind.” If a silver lining is to be had, the report suggested that all this pessimism might mean marketers will “skew their media mix toward promotional spending and direct marketing.” Even so, because budgets are decreasing, this won’t necessarily equate to more dollars for promotion agencies. But it does mean that promotion is in demand to keep consumers engaged at a time when they continue to save, not spend. One way to keep consumers engaged is to keep the conversation going so that when things finally do turn around, the relationship will be intact. The companies profiled in this month’s “Social Studies” cover story (see page 28) are object lessons in the importance of fostering a conversation. Brands like Sharpie are using low-cost channels—blogs and Twitter—to connect with a large fan base for their iconic markers. Brewer Molson is employing those same platforms to get the word out about the community-service passions of its employees. Walmart and Disney have both recruited mommy bloggers, while Home Depot and Rubbermaid are posting how-to advice videos to a range of different Web sites, not just their corporate home sites. Readers of this issue will also find 11 tips on how to economize on vehicle-based marketing tours (see page 16). For the first time in about 10 years, road travel is expected to be way down, 30% or more, and that is translating into big bargains. In these challenging times, there is a natural tendency for marketers to move to a more value-based approach to push the promotional side of the marketing mix—coupons, discount pricing, sweepstakes, value-added packaging, buy-two, get-two-free offers—to get product moving. A continued investment in a brand in good times or bad is paramount to ensure the health of the product. Once consumers lose confidence, the brand becomes a commodity. “Once that perception declines, the jig is up,” Liodice says. l P 6 Resource Sales Associate Cynthia Foristel cynthia.foristel@penton.com Resource Sales Associate Karen Putrimas karen.putrimas@penton.com Online Sales Development Director Rob Shore rob.shore@penton.com Production Manager Brenda Wiley brenda.wiley@penton.com Classiﬁed Production Coordinator Lindsey Sutton lindsey.sutton@penton.com P E N TO N M A R K E T I N G M E D I A S T R AT E G I E S Senior Vice President, Penton Media Financial Services and Marketing Group Warren N. Bimblick Publisher Leslie Bacon Group Editorial Director Ray Schultz Group Copy Chief Charles Vietri Group Research Editor Richard H. Levey Audience Marketing Manager Seth Olson Show Director Angela Eastin READER INFO Editorial e-mailbox: promo.mag@penton.com Subscriber Service: (866)505-7173 (toll-free in the U.S.); (847)763-9504 (for calls originating outside the U.S.) Reprints: reprints@pentonreprints.com or (888)858-8851 List Rental: Marie.Briganti@walterkarl.infousa.com or (845)732-7054 EDITORIAL OFFICES 11 Riverbend Drive South Stamford, CT 06907-0225 Phone (203) 358-9900 Fax (203) 358-5834 ADVERTISING 249 West 17th Street New York, NY 10011-5300 Phone (212) 462-3580 Fax: (212) 683-4572 Chief Executive Oﬃcer Sharon Rowlands sharon.rowlands@penton.com Chief Financial Oﬃcer/Executive Vice President Jean Clifton jean.clifton@penton.com Chief Revenue Oﬃcer Darrell Denny darrell.denny@penton.com Vice President, General Counsel Elise Zealand elise.zealand@penton.com Reprints: Contact Penton Reprints (www.pentonreprints .com) to purchase quality custom reprints or e-prints of articles appearing in PROMO at (888) 858-8851 or reprints@pentonreprints.com. Instant reprints and permissions may be purchased directly from our Web site; look for the iCopyright tag appended to the end of each online article. Portions of our magazine subscriber lists are available to carefully screened companies that oﬀer products and services directly related to the industries we cover. Any subscriber who does not want to receive mailings from third-party companies should contact the subscriber service department at (800) 441-0294 (USA), or (913) 967-1707 (outside USA). ©2009 Penton Media. All Rights Reserved March 2009 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://www.promomagazine.com http://www.pentonreprints.com http://www.pentonreprints.com http://WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - March 2009

Promo - March 2009 Contents Editor's Note No Lumps Sampling by Surprise Legal Check Smartphone Shoppers Taxes and Twitter New Rules of the Road Commentary In Your Face Phones and Flash Social Studies The Agency Center Resource Center Peer-to-Peer Index of Advertisers

Promo - March 2009

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