• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, August 22, 2008

A new survey finds that 53% of major marketers expect their ad budgets will be reduced within the next six months because of the spiraling economy. And 87% say they have already made cutbacks in their marketing and ad plans.

The poll, fielded by the Association of National Advertisers, also finds that while the majority of marketers (53%) expect additional cuts to be modest--ranging from 1% to 10%--27% expect cutbacks to be more substantial, in the 11% to 20% range. A smaller group--about 10% of the respondents--are expecting that their budgets will be gutted, with decreases of 30% or more.

The ANA also asked its respondents--100 marketing executives from a wide range of industries--what kinds of spending would most likely be cut or eliminated. About 69% say that they expect to reduce media budgets, 63% expect to trim ad production budgets, 63% anticipate travel and expense restrictions in their department, and 61% say they will either drop or delay new projects. And 63% also plan to put more pressure on their ad agencies to identify cost reductions.

"Effective marketing spending during economic downturns is not about how much you spend but how you spend it," the trade association says in its release. "Marketers must assess how consumers and customer behavior can be positively influenced during tough times. If it can, then marketers should give increased consideration to more spending rather than cutting."