Fannie Mae Get Help But Will the Crunch Affect Online?

If you believe the hype we’re 24 hours from doomsday, not Tulsa!

Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, AIG Financial, FTSE’s up, FTSE’s down, Lehman Smehman; how’s my website performing?

Are you as tired of hearing the words ‘credit crunch’ as we are? The next time somebody mentions the phrase credit crunch, stick a rugby ball sized aubergine in their mouth; that should do the trick.

Alternatively, you could have a lengthy debate with them on how this will change the landscape of search marketing over the next 12 months.

Throughout 2008 we’ve seen a definite leaning towards online, typically in favour of more traditional, offline alternatives, and this seems to be paying dividends for clients.

Given the accountability of online, it allows traditional advertisers to have immediate ROI data at their fingertips. More importantly, it allows those holding the purse strings to drip feed increased investment into their campaigns in a safe environment.

The next 12 months should be about pushing those activities that work to the point where they are most profitable. That means driving as much volume as possible at a sustainable acquisition cost, be it online or offline.

There will of course be a knock-on effect of the global financial markets tightening. We are hearing today of 1,000 job losses at HSBC worldwide, 500 of those in Britain, and Bradford & Bingley have too announced job losses.

With this in mind it’s true that times may become more turbulent over the coming 12 months but, provided those in charge of marketing spend can bullet proof their campaigns in the short-term, the crunch should feel more like an acceptable nibble.