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August 19, 2008
SMB Advertisers Undeterred
by Current Economic Environment; 81% Plan to Maintain or Increase
Ad Spending Over Next 12 Months, According to The Kelsey Group
Findings from Local
Commerce Monitor study show SMBs continue to adopt Web 2.0 technologies
and invest in media that demonstrate ROI.
Princeton, NJ (August 19, 2008) --
The current economic climate has not diminished the advertising
plans of small and medium-sized businesses. According to the latest
wave of the Local Commerce Monitor, an ongoing study of SMB advertising
behaviors conducted by The Kelsey Group and ConStat, 81 percent
of SMBs surveyed expect to maintain (47 percent) or increase (34
percent) their spending on advertising over the next 12 months,
with only 9 percent planning to decrease ad spending.
SMBs surveyed stated the primary influences on their
advertising spending decisions are:
- Performance/return on investment (31 percent)
- Business partner or competitor (25 percent)
- Information from media such as newspapers, TV and trade publications
(14 percent)
- Friends or family members (12 percent)
“The data reveal a remarkable resilience of
the SMB advertising segment in the face of economic pressures on
local consumers and businesses,” said Stephen Marshall, director,
research and consulting, The Kelsey Group. “There’s
an opportunity for media that can demonstrate ROI to tap into SMBs’
future advertising plans.”
A large percentage of surveyed SMBs said they expect
to continue to adopt Web 2.0 technologies over the next 12 months:
40 percent plan to add customer reviews to their own Web sites;
30 percent will add links or place ads on social sites or blogs;
and 26 percent will incorporate video on their Web sites.
SMB advertising trends will be a primary focus of
The Kelsey Group’s upcoming conference, Directional
Media Strategies 2008 (DMS ’08: The Multiplatform Opportunity),
Sept. 15-17, 2008, Atlanta, Georgia. Attendees will learn more about
The Kelsey Group’s latest research findings and data analysis
and how they relate to the future of the directional media industry
in sessions like The Customer’s Perspective; Selling in a
Down Economy; The Online Video Opportunity; and Mobile Local Search
– What’s the Role for Yellow Pages Publishers?
About Local Commerce Monitor
Local Commerce Monitor is The Kelsey Group’s annual tracking
survey of small and medium-sized businesses, conducted with research
partner ConStat since 1999. The survey measures where SMBs are spending
their advertising and promotional budgets and how their media usage
and spending habits are evolving. Local Commerce Monitor draws its
sample of business respondents from a mix of nationally scoped MSAs,
which include first- and second-tier markets. Local Commerce Monitor
Wave XII was conducted in August 2008 via an online survey of 300
SMBs.
About DMS ’08: The Multiplatform Opportunity
Directional Media Strategies 2008 (DMS ’08: The Multiplatform
Opportunity) is The Kelsey Group’s 29th Yellow Pages and directories
conference (formerly Directory Driven Commerce – DDC: The
Future of Yellow Pages), attracting the widest and most diverse
audience of senior executives from across the global directional
media industry. The conference agenda reflects the challenges and
opportunities presented by the changing local media landscape. Sessions
will cover the priorities of today’s traditional and online
publishers, which must balance the need to focus on the basics—selling
and publishing the best directory products they can in the current
economy—while finding ways to achieve sustainable, long-term
growth and strategic advantage in a multiplatform marketplace.
Conference sponsors include Acxiom, Adfare, AgendiZe,
Amdocs, AT&T Real Yellow Pages, Call Genie, Exalead, Imagine
Local, infoUSA, Local Matters, Local.com, Localeze, Marchex, MediaTraks,
Mixpo, Spotzer, Superpages.com and Telmetrics. Association partners
include Association of Directory Marketing (ADM), Association of
Directory Publishers (ADP), International Classified Media Association
(ICMA) and Yellow Pages Association (YPA). For more information
about DMS ’08: The Multiplatform Opportunity, visit www.kelseygroup.com/directional-media-strategies-2008.
About The Kelsey Group
The Kelsey Group is the leading provider of research, data and strategic
analysis on directories, small-business advertising, online local
media, vertical market advertising and mobile advertising. Founded
in 1986, the company has built a reputation as the premier analyst
firm covering the directory publishing community and the emerging
local search marketplace, providing advisory services (The Kelsey
Report®, Interactive Local Media and Marketplaces), publishing
(Global Yellow Pages™), consulting (more than 400 individual
assignments) and conferences (72 events). For more information about
The Kelsey Group, visit www.kelseygroup.com.
For more information contact:
Eileen Pacheco
eileen@tango-group.com
(781) 556-1026
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