With a rollercoaster end to 2008 and a tough year forecasted for the economy how will the “Global Financial Crisis” affect the market and running digital projects and production in 2009?

“If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.”
Warren Buffett

No one can really predict what will happen in the next two years, undoubtably with the most influential economies of the US, UK, EU and Japan falling into recession, industry in Australia will feel the bite of low consumer confidence, heightening unemployment and budgets tightening.

However there are a number of factors that indicate some optimism for the New Year:

1. Growth in expenditure - According to a survey by the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA), IBM and Hyro , Australian businesses plan to invest more than AUD$17.9 billion dollars on digital services in 2009.

- 40% of customer interaction for business and government is now done via digital channels and these channels deliver 25% of revenue. Despite this, the levels of support for the digital industry from government and for the public infrastructure initiatives required to further develop Australia as an international leader in digital appear to be lagging.

- As a $17.9 billion industry, growing at a fantastic rate and covering a wide range of skills and capabilities, the digital industry in Australia should not be ignored as a major employer and growth market for Australia’s future.

2. Accountability – Clients will focus on online campaigns that provide value for dollars invested as compared to other forms of advertising that may be harder to measure. Accurate reporting, tracking and analysis of campaigns will become more important.

3. More test campaigns - As clients new to online start to advertise, we should see an increase in the number of smaller test campaigns ($5,000 – $10,000) being run by savvy media planners who will want to test different creative executions then optimise accordingly to test inventory.

4. Increase in clients hiring inhouse online marketers – as the industry continues to grow so will the need for experienced digital ‘evangelists’ or ‘gurus’.  Clients will continue to hire to ensure that their own marketing teams have an online representative.

5. Mashed Up – Integration across platforms - as agencies grapple with the uptake in search, the proliferation of social networks as well as mobile technologies, increasingly clients will want to be able to effectively target potential consumers across emerging platforms.  Agencies will need to find their niche and/ or connect withspecialist business partners and suppliers.

So which clients thrive or survive in a recession? Typically the ’sin’ industries that provide people with more accessible ‘luxuries’ such as gambling, liquor, cigarettes and choclate will remain popular. The old faithfuls in big pharmaceuticals and healthcare as well as discount retailers (K-Mart / Aldi etc) should also prosper.

In terms of production, as a producer or project manager it will be business as usual however there will be a need to run a tight ship by:

1. Maintain management reports and ensure these provide adequate detail in terms of budget and risk

2. Looking at new suppliers or discounting with existing suppliers

3. Partnering or affiliating with service providers

4. Retaining or retraining key staff as an investment to the agency

5. Motivating your team in tougher times

6. Creating and maintaining a pool of reliable and experienced freelancers

7. Look at cost effective ways to communicate and work i.e skype as opposed to company mobiles, cutting down on printed material and sharing cabs to and from client meetings.

How can we help?

Studio

We offer a free project consultancy service so you can email studio@transfergroup.com.au or call us at any time on +61 (02) 4017 0207 for advice or a ballpark estimate.

Staffing

If you are looking for permanent or contract staff, take a look at our sister site – www.digitaltransfer.com.au or www.searchtransfer.com.au or www.copytransfer.com.au.