ANA: Political Ads Will Curtail Ad Revenue Slowdown

The Association of National Advertisers is anticipating a slowdown in 2008, due to softening in certain economic centers. But it also forecasts that a boom in political ad spending will help offset the blow to ad revenues.

That's one of the main points of the ANA's annual report on marketing trends, authored by a team directed by ANA president/CEO Bob Liodice. As the New Year approaches, the ANA report surveys 2007 and looks ahead to 2008.

The slowdown will be due to economic factors that are mostly external to media, including an overall slowing of economic growth and continuing problems in the credit market, resulting from the subprime mortgage meltdown. That will squeeze consumer lending in 2008. These trends will probably dampen consumer confidence, as families tighten their purse strings and wait for the bad weather to pass.

In this context, marketing will still be central to most companies' business strategies, and it may even become more important. At the same time, as budgets get tight, marketers will be expected to do more with less.

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The ANA predicts a continued emphasis on innovation and creativity in all aspects of advertising and media planning, including ad creative and delivery strategies. Such focus will only be strengthened by the ongoing fragmentation of audiences as new media possibilities proliferate--another key driver of change next year.

With innovation will come an increased demand for measurement and accountability. The ANA believes companies will begin creating positions for "accountability officers" who will lead strategies to implement better measurement of delivery and results.

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