Call it a case of holding the bean counters accountable: Financial services marketers are ratcheting up spending on measurable marketing media.
“The ones that are increasing [spending] are the ones that are easier to measure and show their value,” said Todd Baird, brand director at Boston-based Partners and Simons, which recently surveyed senior marketing executives at financial service firms about advertising practices.
Respondents were most likely to decrease spending on print or broadcast advertising, while few indicated they would be cutting back on online or e-mail efforts. Only one in eight said they would reduce outlays for non-electronic direct marketing.
“I think the pressure is on performance, and if you can’t demonstrate performance, you’re making decisions more from instinct and gut, which are more easily challenged.” Baird said.
Meanwhile, 40% said marketing was playing a bigger role in delivering bottom-line results. Sixty-four percent indicated management wanted more direct accountability from marketing spending, and a similar percentage noted that their systems for tracking and developing sales leads were fair or poor.
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