Blackfriar Communications, Inc., a Maynard-based consulting group, forecasts that U.S. businesses will spend upwards of $615 billion for the year.
The prediction is down $385 billion from 2005, and the group noted that 2006 marketing spending dropped to 4.7% of revenue this year from 8.9% last year. The most dollars spent on marketing were recorded by the manufacturing industry, leading the way with spending of $59 billion. Carl Howe, a principal at Blackfriars Communications, said that if marketing were an industry, it would be the ninth-largest in the U.S.
Blackfriars Communications collected data from 317 senior business executives about their marketing budgets, attitudes and spending.
