Yet another study points to the plans of advertisers to reduce spending on traditional advertising to allocate more to new media - and alternative strategies such as buzz marketing, according to MediaPost (via MediaBuyerPlanner). "Marketing 2006: 2006's Timid Start," a study to be released by Blackfriars Communications on March 1, predicts an almost 10 percent drop in the portion of marketing budgets allocated to traditional advertising compared with 2005.

Most of the shift going to new media and new strategies such as word of mouth, buzz marketing, and viral marketing, according to Blackfriars, which predicts a 13 percent increase in overall marketing spend in 2006.

Blackfriars principal Carl Howe pointed out that those interviewed for the report were not marketing executives but business executives of "all flavors. These are owners, directors, and senior VPs." In other words, they're decision makers rather than marketing executives who have an incentive "to put their own spin on budget numbers."