Frost & Sullivan Survey Reveals: Marketers on the Road to Rebound From Economic Downturn

LONDON, March 25, 2010 - Identifying new opportunities, cultivating innovation, and harnessing
competitiveness: These are the three forces that are empowering marketers to
transform their performance in a global environment tainted by the economic
downturn. In a recent survey of marketing professionals at companies in the
European Union, Frost & Sullivan finds that marketing executives are shifting
focus to tapping into global opportunities (28% of respondents), addressing
the need for product/service innovation and capabilities (20%), and coping
with intensifying competition (18%). Predicting a moderate increase in their
company's 2010 performance, Marketers are feeling more optimistic about the
benefits that can be reaped from their new approach. These three external
factors, cited as having the most impact on 2010 marketing plans, will
successfully pave the path for growth as they come to the forefront of
marketer's objectives.

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The survey, conducted by Frost & Sullivan's Growth Team Membership(TM)
executive development program, sought to better understand business
environment factors and the key issues facing marketing executives in 2010,
in addition to the effects on budgets, staffing, and marketing planning. The
top five key issues cited by survey participants include identifying new
adjacent market opportunities (28% of respondents), identifying new
opportunities for existing products (22%), and monitoring changing customer
preferences and needs (12%).

New to this year's survey was the differentiation of responses based on
whether the marketer works in a B-to-B, B-to-C, or a hybrid environment.
B-to-B marketers are looking to integrate more effectively with the sales
force and increase the pace of product introductions. In comparison, B-to-C
marketers are dealing with a greater range of challenges: coordinating their
brand across regions, reacting to resource restraints by improving their
relationship with Sales via effective lead generation metrics, and
understanding distribution channel needs.

"The data highlights that marketing's top challenges are variable across
business models," explains Keith O'Brien, Senior Director of Global Research
for Frost & Sullivan's Growth Team Membership program. "We also learned that
staff or technology issues are the key root causes of marketing's top
challenges."

As expected, executives foresee their budgets staying the same throughout
2010, with the largest budget item being staff. Additionally, staffing levels
are predicted to stay the same or increase moderately.

For more information on this survey and the prominent issues identified
by the marketing function, please contact Chiara Carella, +44(0)207-3438314,
chiara.carella@frost.com.

Frost & Sullivan's Growth Team Membership(TM) is an annual subscription
program that supports the individual members of a CEO's executive team in
achieving the company's top-line growth objectives. The membership includes
career-focused events, implementation-oriented best practices research, and
targeted services. A Growth Team Membership will speed the design and
implementation of a company's growth initiatives (avoid reinventing the
wheel); reduce risk by avoiding pitfalls encountered by peers; stimulate
problem solving through a cross-industry perspective; improve an executive's
contribution to the CEO's growth agenda; and accelerate the executive's
professional and career development.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to
accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation
and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and
the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to
drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth
strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in
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please visit www.frost.com.

    Contact:
    Chiara Carella
    Corporate Communications - Europe
    +44(0)207-3438314
    Chiara.carella@frost.com

Chiara Carella of Frost & Sullivan, Corporate Communications - Europe, +44(0) 207-3438314, Chiara.carella at frost.com