Spring!

I've been amazed this year that so many clients and potential customers were willing to let the first quarter slip away without having a marketing plan in place. I'm ancient enough to remember when nearly every client would labor over their marketing budget in October & November and have everything in place by mid-December -- much like the stockings over the hearth.

These days it's much more chaotic. Retail advertising has always taken a dip in January but business-to-business always was strong. It's more likely these days to have budgets finalized in January and even February. This sometimes means the advertiser "goes dark" for 2-3 months before their campaign kicks in. Just a sign of the times, I guess.

The good news is, even those who delayed their plans suddenly are calling and getting things going. That's a sure sign of spring!