The old double-edged proverb “May you live in interesting times” resonates particularly loudly with everyone at the moment, and with marketing decision-makers it has especial relevance.

News from the CMO Council suggests that marketing heads are expecting budgets to increase, but are also most aware of economic factors affecting their ability to receive and act on those budgets. And one wonders whether the positive thoughts on future budgets would have remained the same had the survey been done after the latest economic crisis to hit the US in particular and the world markets in general.

Budget restraints are nothing new to the experienced CMO.  Even in a boom year the marketing team knows that there is always a stage in the financial year when the CFO will come to share a spreadsheet and activities start to be squeezed into more economical versions, or cut altogether. Marketing spend is one of the most manageable aspects in a balance sheet: a marketer knows that their budgets are produced with a view to manipulation rather than protection.

Reducing spend doesn’t ever have to mean a reduction in creativity. The whole premise of guerilla marketing and its continuing success shows that great marketing doesn’t have to be accompanied by enormous outgoings. However, when you have to do more with less, you have to make sure that you’re getting real value – and that value turns into real results. So it has to be of the highest quality, originality and creativity. And, as the aforementioned report makes very clear: it’s vital to exploit all channels and avoid Random Acts of Marketing. Another reason to evaluate the structure of your marketing team.

If you’re living in interesting times and the squeeze on your marketing spend is beginning to cause ructions with your stakeholders, there is no alternative. To get more outcomes from less income, you have to brief the Exchange.