Always curious about our clients’ needs, Cognito went out and surveyed communications professionals from leading financial services and financial technology firms across the globe. The questionnaire, carried out last month, was designed to gauge the top priorities financial marketing and public relations executives have for second half of 2011.

Some interesting results:

• Online media is clearly valued as the most effective news medium with 61% of respondents ranking it as the most impactful news medium
• 88% of marketing and communications professionals see marketing spending to remain constant or increase slightly in the coming 12 months
• The days of cutting back budgets may be ending as nearly 90% of respondents saw their marketing and PR spend fixed or increasing over the next 12 months (PR also ranked as top priority in second half of 2011)
• Company and industry events are seen as the most effective communication channels for reaching target audiences, according to the results
• PR remains a crucial function, as a third of respondents ranked it as the highest priority for Q3 and Q4

What are your thoughts? Feel free to comment below…