A recent report from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) Bellwether highlights a significant uptick in marketing budgets among UK businesses. This quarterly study, which delves into marketers' confidence and media spending decisions, reveals noteworthy insights. Leon Calverley, a marketing expert specialising in the home and garden sector at the digital agency Door4, shared his perspectives in Furniture News on how this general budgetary shift might impact businesses in the realm of home and garden goods.
Photo: Door4
The Bellwether report closely aligns with Door4's observations within the home and garden retail sector. Despite ongoing challenges, businesses in the industry are adopting strategic marketing approaches with a focus on the long term. Anticipating a return of consumer confidence in the latter part of the year through 2025, companies are actively engaging in marketing efforts to secure market share and foster customer loyalty.
Contrary to the common trend of short-termism during economic uncertainty, the Bellwether report indicates a significant surge in investment in main media advertising, traditional channels, and events. This shift suggests a move towards embracing long-term brand-building strategies. In the home and garden sector, where customers may not always be in the market for non-essential items, brand building becomes crucial for maintaining top-of-mind awareness when they do decide to make a purchase.
Even in the face of economic challenges, the key for home and garden businesses is to optimise marketing strategies that strike a balance between short-term gains and long-term brand building. By analysing the Bellwether report, Door4 predicts that home and garden businesses will allocate budgets strategically across various media channels.
Search and proactive website optimisation will continue to be robust areas of investment, alongside channels that cater to future demand and attention-rich media. As consumer spending habits evolve, the home and garden sector is expected to adapt its media channel spend allocation accordingly.
In a crowded digital marketplace, the importance of measuring and learning from marketing campaigns cannot be overstated. Door4 emphasises the significance of continually adapting to changing trends and competitors' strategies.
Door4 is hosting a free event on February 22nd, tailored to driving efficiency and measurable effectiveness in home and garden marketing. This event promises valuable insights into market trends, media strategies, messaging, and measurement techniques, providing brands with the tools to strategically optimise their marketing spend.
More information:
Door4
www.door4.com
