Financial brands rein in spend over credit fears - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic

Financial brands rein in spend over credit fears - Brand Republic News - Brand Republic: "Financial brands rein in spend over credit fears by Bill Britt Marketing 04-Dec-07, 08:45 LONDON - The true impact of the credit squeeze has manifested itself in a dramatic decline in financial marketing spend. Finance firms' spend on traditional marketing relating to lending, across mortgages, credit cards and personal loans, has plunged since the squeeze began. Total adspend by banks, building societies and credit-card companies on advertising and direct marketing, excluding search and email, fell by £15m or 28% to £38m in September, following a 27% drop in August, according to exclusive data from Thomson Intermedia. There has been a particularly notable fall in investment in direct mail and print for credit card products. 'There may be a shift to cost-effective forms of digital marketing,' said Paul Ryan, head of insight at Thomson Intermedia. Spending on credit-card promotions in traditional media fell by 23%-53% every month from January to September. Credit card companies spent £45.9m less on direct mail over the period year on year, a 49% drop. Marketing spend on mortgages rose until September, when it fell 19%. Mortgage approvals fell from 100,000 in September to 88,000 in October, the lowest level since February 2005, accordi"