Australian marketers channel future outlook – research points to strong outlook for marketing

The Australian Marketing Institute and Colmar Brunton’s Fourth Annual Senior Marketers Monitor reveals a range of insights about current market sentiment and practice, providing pointers to changing levels of marketing activity.

Further information on the research can be sourced at www.ami.org.au.

Conducted during December 2012, specific research findings include:

Marketing budgets continue to grow    

Overall, budgets are expected to record another increase in 2013, although only at around an average 1% (against the 3.5% recorded in the previous survey, and the 4% growth of 2011).  One third (34%) of marketers are anticipating their 2013 budgets to increase, against 38% expecting expenditures to remain largely unchanged.

Says Mark Crowe, Australian Marketing Institute CEO: “Again we are seeing large budget variances across all sectors, but organisations with a turnover of under $150 million are more likely to be expecting budget increases in the year ahead and among those expecting increases the average lift is a healthy 16%. While the top marketing priorities include measures to increase sales, maximising marketing expenditure efficiency and focusing on more profitable market segments, there are interesting shifts in the intended use of communication channels.”

Marketers continue to feel positive about their profession and its role     

Similar to the previous two years, most senior marketers (76%) feel ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’ about the role and influence of marketing in Australia today.

Says Crowe: “Despite the variations in budgets forecast, there is a continuing confidence in marketing’s role and influence in Australian business. The latest survey lends further support to earlier indications that marketers’ confidence in the future is not directly linked to budgets.”

Marketing Priorities     

No major changes over 2012, but emerging shifts in the use of social networking and Web 2.0

•    Measures to increase sales

•    Customer acquisition

•    Maximising efficiency of marketing expenditure

•    Maintaining, building brand/s

•    More profitable market segments

Challenges faced by marketers

•    Effectively getting messages to market 

•    Acquiring new customers

•    Maintaining current customer base

•    Demonstrating the contribution of marketing to senior management

•    Maintaining pricing/margins

Changes in media expenditure

In terms of use of media the top five increased channels are:

•    Social networking and web 2.0 applications

•    Online advertising

•    Public relations

•    Viral marketing

•    Direct marketing

Says Crowe: “Traditional media is being used more by a minority of marketers with the stand-out examples being Print (12%), radio (8%) and Free to Air TV (4%).”

The survey was run online and is based on 259 responses from senior marketers. The survey was administered in December 2012 and is the fourth annual Senior Marketers Monitor conducted by the Australian Marketing Institute and Colmar Brunton.