• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, January 20, 2012

According to the 2012 RSW/US New Year Outlook Survey to glean insights relative to Client and Agency expectations going into 2012 for things such as marketing spend levels, staff support, media usage, use of spec work, and new business activities. 57% of Agency principals in the survey stated that the ad business isn’t as fun as it used to be.

The study was completed by over 100 senior level Marketers (“Clients”) and over 100 Agency Principals from agencies of different types/sizes during December, 2011.

The report suggests that, while things certainly appear to be improving, it is important not to get too far ahead of yourself heading into 2012, proceeding with some measure of cautious optimism.

A lot of the Agency enthusiasm is likely driven by the number of new business opportunities increasing year over year and Agency principals expect the increased activity to continue into 2012. 45% of Agencies stated that they saw the number of new business opportunities increase in 2011 versus 2010. And a whopping 72% of Agency principals believe that the new business picture will be especially bright as we move into 2012.           

This difference in enthusiasm for the economy and staffing is also reflected in how Agencies and Marketers expect spending levels to change in 2012. Far more Agencies expect Marketer spending to increase in 2012 (55%) than the Marketers themselves believe to be true (41%).

On the positive, compared to last year, there are far fewer Marketers believing their spending will decrease, which again suggests some optimism for 2012. In 2010, 28% of Marketers believed their spending would either decrease "somewhat" or "significantly". This year, only 19% stated such. 

 While it is clear that the move to spend more dollars in digital media will continue, it may not be at the rapid pace that Agencies expect. Marketers are not as aggressive in their forecasts for spending in non-traditional media. While the increases will outpace that of traditional, the rate of increase won't match Agency expectations. As an example, Agencies expect spends to increase by 89% in social, 72% in mobile, and 55% in banner. This compares to 63%, 46%, and 30% respectively for Marketers. 

The increased enthusiasm (client marketing spending) will bring with it increased competition among Agencies to win business from Marketers. 83% of Agency principals believe that the world of finding new business and building their business will get much more competitive in 2012. As a result, 82% feel that they will get either "somewhat" or "much more" aggressive in trying to win new business as they head into this year. 

And lastly, says the report, agencies need to recognize that outreach works. With the age of referrals drying up, and search only offering modest value for Agency prospecting, a robust outbound prospecting program is central to making Marketers aware of who you are and why you are different (and better). 17% of Marketers state that this is the primary way they find out about Agencies, second only to networking.

 For additional information from RSW/US, please visit here.