NEW YORK, NY – According to new research by the Association of National Advertisers, in partnership with Guideline Inc, only 13 percent of senior marketers are very satisfied with their company's marketing structure despite a growing trend to centralize the marketing function and integrate its disciplines. And, while 37 percent of executives surveyed say their marketing department interacts and advises their company at a higher level now than two years ago, only 21 percent say that marketing interacts at the C-level.

Based on a survey of marketing executives at both B-to-B and B-to-C companies, major findings include the following:

• 52 percent of marketers classifying their organizations as one with a centralized marketing organization as the dominant structure
• 49 percent of respondents believe marketing has become more centralized in the past two years
• 56 percent of B-to-B companies report increased centralization of the marketing function over the past two years
• 39 percent of B-to-C respondents report increased centralization of the marketing function over the past two years
• 52 percent say that their company's marketing function has achieved actual integration, though 2/3 feel that their company's marketing function has become more integrated

Bob Liodice, President and CEO of the ANA, says "Companies are clearly moving to rein in dispersed marketing organizations and tightly integrate all the marketing disciplines... However... creating the optimal marketing organization is still a work in progress..."

Additional insights from the study show that large percentages of respondents believe that marketing has a major impact on four key areas of the organization:

• Overall brand development, 89 percent
• Revenue/volume, 79 percent
• Strategic direction, 75 percent
• Market share, 71 percent

The report concludes that "Outsourcing a portion of an organization's marketing function to marketing service providers has grown as outsourcing costs have decreased and media fragmentation has increased. 94 percent of respondents reported outsourcing at least one marketing function, and... 86 percent expect this trend to continue in the near term. The functions outsourced are mainly media planning and buying, but also include creative services, marketing research and public relations.

Copyright 2008 MediaPost Communications. All rights reserved. From http://www.mediapost.com.
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