If you listen to the pundits regarding our current economic recovery you will generally hear one word, unemployment. Anyone who has spent anytime reading a newspaper or watching the news will be able to tell you unemployment is 9.6%. However, one thing that has gotten significantly little news coverage in the past month has been the amount of marketing dollars that are beginning to be spent. This is a much better indicator of the economic recovery than unemployment because it is a leading indicator. Companies will start to spend marketing dollars first to drive sales to create more product orders and then will hire more staff to help fill those orders. Companies are also looking to spend money on new initiatives like marketing on mobile phones rather than increase their TV buys because mobile is rapidly becoming a means to communicate in an extremely targeted way with consumers.

In order to bolster this argument, JAGTAG looks at some facts coming out in the last half of 2010.

1. Google now makes $1 Billion in revenue from mobile alone


2. Informa Telecom and Media now reports mobile marketing will exceed $3.5 Billion this year and $24 billion in later years.


3. EMarketer reports mobile ad spending is up 79% from 2009


4. Zenith Optimedia reports that not only are advertising dollars that are being spent but they are also trending up. In July, 2010 they reported a 3.5% increase over 2010 and now are calling for 4.8% growth. This is significant because you are talking about billions of dollars so a 1.3% increase on $$3.5 billion is another $45 million available to mobile marketers.


5. More mobile advertising dollars are shifting from traditional means to digital and mobile. Forrester reports the largest increase in advertising will be increased in search marketing followed by a 34% increase in social marketing and 27% compounded in mobile marketing.

With the increase in advertising dollars being spent this simply results in a mini stimulus for all involved. Consumers make up 70% of the GDP in the U.S., increasing advertising spending on consumer goods should lead increased sales, increased oders and increased employment to fill those orders. Marketers who remain in the bunker and don't spend risk being sidelined while the rest increase their ad spend thereby increasing their sales and if their smart taking that money and putting it back into marketing to keep the cycle growing. Mobile marketing will be a huge beneficiary of the recovery that is already under way.