The economic outlook has forced most marketers to make some of the toughest resourcing decisions of their professional lives. But this is all going to get easier next year, right? Not really. Findings from our 2009 Marketing Investment Benchmarks Survey reveals that marketers do not expect their companies to loosen their purse strings in 2010.

Results from our tenth annual survey show that in 2009, spend on channels conducive to driving consideration (website, social media, direct mail, PR) held flat or grew; while spend on channels that primarily drive awareness (broadcast, print, online display ads) declined in comparison to 2008. The question we asked was what is driving this trend?The answer lies (as it rightly should) in viewing marketing budget allocation with the lens of business objectives. The vast majority of survey respondents – from both B2B and B2C companies – said accelerating loyalty (retaining and growing share of wallet from existing customers) was their key priority in 2009. The tight pressure on business is forcing most companies to focus on their existing clients and ensure that these clients ride through the storm with them.

Interestingly though, the tactics to drive consideration might have changed – perhaps as a result of cost pressure.  We found that the channel mix is most definitely changing. Although traditional channels (broadcast, media, print, shows, etc.) continue to remain important, the marcomm channel mix shifted gradually in favor of digital channels this year.  Digital spend in most companies skyrocketed in 2009.

Do the whiffs of optimism around the economic turn around reach the survey respondents? Not yet. Most marketers surveyed do not expect significant changes in their budget size next year.

MLC Members, download the full 2009 Marketing Investment Benchmarks study  or compare your spend to peers using our Marketing Benchmarks Center tools.

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