Direct marketing ´increased in 2008´

Despite an overall fall in marketing budgets, the volume of direct campaigns increased in 2008, it has been claimed.

According to the latest IPA Bellwether report, direct marketing increased by 12 per cent over the last year, despite budgets being slashed in the final quarter of 2008.

Just seven per cent of firms surveyed reported an increase in marketing budgets in the final quarter, while almost half said they had reduced the amount they spend on advertising.

The report shows internet marketing - such as search engine optimisation - increased by 1.2 per cent during the same period.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit and author of the report, said: "The Bellwether [report] shows an alarming rate of corporate retrenchment as the recession deepens, with spending on marketing being cut at a rate far greater than ever previously seen over the survey´s history."

Markit is a financial services and intelligence firm that employs more than 1,000 people around the world.