Integrated Marketing Communications Joins Accountability as Top Senior Marketer Concerns

Association of National Advertisers Annual Survey Cites Top Issues Facing Senior Marketing Executives in 2007

A survey conducted by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) finds the top concerns on the minds of senior marketing executives are "integrated marketing communications" and "marketing accountability". The ANA asked over 100 senior marketers to select from a comprehensive list of subjects to rank their top three issues that directly impact their marketing decisions and plans.

Integrated marketing communications jumped from the fourth spot in 2006 to the top of the list this year. Marketing accountability, which had topped the list for the previous three annual surveys, slipped to second place.

"The results recognize that marketers are increasingly challenged by the proliferation and complexity of the marketing and media landscape," says Bob Liodice, President and CEO of the ANA. "It is not a surprise to see this particularly as marketing mix allocations have become paramount in the overall accountability and brand building equations. The ANA will continue to provide marketers with insights and tools to navigate their brands through these critical times."

Integrated marketing communications received 116 votes, while accountability garnered 114. "Aligning the marketing organization with innovation" surfaced for the second year in a row as a major priority for marketers with 89 votes, and "building strong brands" and "media proliferation" rounded out the top five major concerns for the industry with 75 and 49 votes respectively.The ANA will use these findings to help shape the content of its Masters of Marketing Annual Conference scheduled to take place October 11 - 14, 2007 in Phoenix, AZ.

The following is the comprehensive list of issues ranked in order of importance, and compared to how the issue fared in the 2006 survey:

Issue	2007	2006
Integrated marketing communications	1	4
Accountability	2	1
Aligning marketing organization with innovation	3	2
Building strong brands	4	3
Media proliferation	5	5
Consumer control over what and how they view advertising	6	8
Globalization of marketing efforts	7	10
Growth of multicultural consumer segments	8	6
Advertising creative that achieves business results	9	9
Attracting and retaining top talent	10	7