The ANA (Association of National Advertisers) held its 2008 Annual “Masters of Marketing” Conference from October 16-19, 2008, in Orlando, FL. The theme of the conference was Growth, which held great importance given the current economic climate that the marketing industry faces.

The attendees, made up of client-side marketers, media and creative agencies and others, were polled via handheld devices about their marketing mix, budgets, plans, and tactics throughout the event. The questions and their responses are below.

How will you adjust your current marketing and media plans to account for the recent downturn in the financial markets?
- Spending will be reduced (33%)
- Spending will be constant / marketing mix will be reallocated (33%)
- Surprisingly, we will spend more (27%)
- No changes, we will keep everything status quo (8%)

How does your CEO view your marketing efforts with respect to growth?
- As a brand-building investment (56%)
- As an unaccountable but necessary expense (21%)
- Not sure (15%)
- As an unnecessary expense (8%)

What is your preferred social media site for driving brand growth?
- None (32%)
- YouTube (20%)
- Facebook (18%)
- All (12%)
- LinkedIn (10%)
- MySpace (6%)
- Twitter (3%)

As you look toward 2009, how much do you plan to spend on marketing vs. 2008?
- Increase spending more than 10% (26%)
- Increase spending less than 10% (13%)
- Hold stable (28%)
- Decrease spending less than 10% (14%)
- Decrease spending more than 10% (19%)

Which discipline will offer your brand the largest opportunity for growth?
- Traditional 30-second spots (17%)
- One page advertisements in a newspaper/magazine (7%)
- Web advertising (16%)
- Social media integration (28%)
- Direct Marketing (7%)
- Grassroots, viral public relations (19%)
- Radio (5%)

How does your company currently measure brand growth?
- Sales and net income (70%)
- Third party brand equity valuations (15%)
- Shareholder value (9%)
- Household penetration (4%)
- Company culture (3%)