News & Events

Report shows DM budget downturn

Date posted:

15th July 2008

A new report has revealed that the amount of money spent on direct marketing (DM) has fallen.

A new report published by Bellwether has shown that the amount of money spend on direct marketing (DM) has fallen to the lowest level since the time of the terrorist attacks on New York in 2001.

The figures found that the quarter reading for all marketing sectors was -12.4 per cent, the lowest in seven years and the fourth quarter in a row that the sector has reported a downturn.

Internet marketing was the only channel to show an increase in spending, with 19 per cent of companies reporting a rise from the budgets set at the start of the year, and only 12 per cent reporting a decline.

Mark Runacus, a member of the Institute for Practitioners in Advertising (IPA), said: "Obviously the results are a concern, but not specifically for the DM industry. I think it's important to look at direct marketing's results in the greater context of overall spend reduction.

"It's true that the results indicate a hastened shift to digital channels, but most direct marketing practitioners use these channels too," he told Brand Republic.

The IPA is one of the world's biggest trade bodies for marketing communications agencies and has around 270 member organisations.

Blue Skies Marketing Recruitment works on behalf of both permanent and freelance agency and in-house candidates across the creative, design and branding, digital, DM, events, experiential, integrated, PR and sales promotion sectors.