- BLOG BEAG –

The Agency is pleased and grateful to have been given permission to circulate the detail of a special eMarketer report “Seven Strategies for Surviving the Downturn” (copyright holder: e-Marketer).

copyright: eMarketer

Although the language is somewhat US-centric, this is a quality report with very worthwhile suggestions of how to market your way through a downturn.

For marketers looking to not only survive, but possibly even thrive in these recessionary times, eMarketer has identified seven strategies made possible by the Internet.

‘Seven Strategies for Surviving the Downturn’ by Geoffrey Ramsey, CEO at eMarketer, is being circulated to coincide with the launch of the Dublin 2009 Praxis internet marketing seminar programme on at the Grand Hotel Malahide on 26th March 2009. An event well worth noting. For further details and a copy of the Report please also see our download page on the main site.

The headlines (note especially Strategies 4, 5 and 6) of the ‘Seven Strategies for Surviving the Downturn’ Report are:

1. Strategy 1- Get with the ‘accountability’ program
   Particularly in lean times, CEOs are going to be looking for accountability across all departments-including marketing programs.
2. Strategy 2 – Search: a necessity for marketers in a depressed economy
   “There’s a focus on efficiency during these leaner times. Advertisers are putting more
   concentration on maximizing direct response. The Internet is the most efficient
   direct response machine ever invented.”
3. Strategy 3. Beyond Search: Do not ignore the power of branding online
   Search accounts for over 40% of all online advertising dollars spent in the US. Beyond the debate over whether search is most effective as a direct response or branding tactic, one thing is clear, if marketers only do search, they are missing 70% to 80% of their
   market opportunity. Search works best when it is complemented by online branding
   efforts that create awareness, interest and desire among prospects. Often the idea to search for a particular item comes from brand advertising.
4. Strategy 4 – Stay close to customers
   Obviously, when times are tough, marketers should attempt to stay as close as they can to their core customers. Fortunately, the Web provides a number of opportunities that allow this to be done as efficiently as possible. With the vast majority of adults online, and much higher penetration among teens and millennials, according to eMarketer estimates, the Internet has reached the threshold of becoming a mass medium. In addition to scale, it also accounts for an increasingly large share of consumer media time.
5. Strategy 5 – Engender trust
   Trust is the currency of brands, and it has never been harder to create or hold on to.
6. Strategy 6 – Engage prospects and customers via video
   The online video revolution has begun. Marketers, content publishers and (especially) television networks are taking notice. The production costs and ease of distribution for online video make it attractive for brand marketers looking to save precious marketing dollars while allowing them to engage their customers with sight, sound, motion and emotion-all the elements that make for compelling brand messages. At the very least, marketers can achieve cost-efficiencies by taking the video assets they already own-including television commercials, video sales demonstrations, videotaped customer testimonials, promotional films and so forth-and putting
   them online.
7. Strategy 7 – test, test, test
   This last strategy is more of a marketing mindset. With marketing budgets slashed everywhere and most consumers in a similar slo-mo spending mode, now is really a
   terrific time to experiment. Not on wacky, unproven tactics that only get the attention of media headlines, but on practical, data supported success strategies that marketers are already deploying today, many of which are discussed in this whitepaper.

The Report is also located at: http://www.praxisnow.ie/base/Seven-Strategies.htm

The Seminars reference page is: http://praxisnow.ie/seminars.

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