• Advertising Age, Wednesday, December 17, 2008 9:15 AM

As marketers pull back on ad spending, they're more likely to concentrate their resources with magazine companies whose assets can help make up for the reduced ad budget. Many want media companies to become marketing partners, replacing work done by in-house people who have been laid off.

Advertisers now prefer a single, central point of contact at a media company, per research by Advertiser Perceptions. "We really want to concentrate on a few properties where we can make the most of that property," says Stephanie Gallo, VP-marketing at Gallo.

The trick for media companies making their own budget cuts is to protect enough of their integrated marketing capabilities to stay in the game. First to go are magazines' big, splashy programs designed to incorporate multiple sponsors. Publishers are instead focusing on cross-platform marketing plans tailored for a single advertiser. Such programs "are measurable, integrated, and create noise and buzz," says Richard Beckman, president of Conde Nast Media.

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