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The 2009 Association of National Advertisers (ANA)/Marketing Management Analytics' (MMA) Marketing Accountability Survey, which surveyed 95 senior-level marketers in June, revealed some surprising results. Despite a 75 percent decrease in marketers' marketing budgets this year, as well as 65 percent who said they were expected to drive more sales with the same or lower budget, marketing accountability programs have taken on a greater significance.

Some of those findings include:
An increase in cross-functional marketing accountability teams. Thirty-two percent of respondents said their teams included representation from marketing, finance, and research, up 22 percent from 2008.

An increase in speaking the language of finance. Thirty-eight percent agreed that marketing and finance share common metrics (up significantly from 27 percent).

Use of more sophisticated analytics to determine marketing budgets. Seventeen percent of respondents said they use "what if" scenarios at different budget levels to determine sales and profits--more than double the response from the 2008 survey.

A greater use of predictive modeling. Forty-three percent of respondents said they use customer lifetime value models as an accountability technique, up from 27 percent in the prior year's study.

Developing predictive sales models. Almost twice as many as last year (19 percent vs.10 percent) said they were confident that if they had to cut marketing spend by 10 percent, they could use metrics and analysis to forecast the impact on sales.

Overall, respondents reported a higher level of satisfaction with their marketing accountability efforts as compared to last year. "With marketers, CFOs, and CEOs paying more attention to each dollar spent, marketing accountability processes have become strategic imperatives," said Bob Liodice, president and CEO, ANA, in a press release.

Even with these improvements, marketers are cautiously optimistic about the 2010 marketing outlook. While 33 percent said their marketing budget would remain the same next year, 36 percent said they expect it to increase, with 12 percent saying it would go up by more than 10 percent. Fourteen percent said their marketing outlay would decrease by more than 10 percent in 2010.