Rich Vancil, vice president of IDC’s Executive Advisory Group, blogs a sad prediction: marketing budgets will be cut roughly 15% during the first half of 2009. He also makes an interesting point on the virtues of investing consistently in marketing:

I have believed that good marketing investment policy has elements of a large inertial flywheel: let it stop spinning and the fuel to get it going again costs a lot more than if steady increments had been consistently applied. Vendors should have the wherewithal and courage to keep their investments basically steady.
— Richard Vancil

I’ve seen the same “flywheel” dynamic in influencer relations, as well. Consistently applying effort and attention requires less overall time, energy and funding — and pays greater dividends in the long run.

Check out the blog for marketing management advice on weathering the economic storm.