Framingham, Mass.—Tech marketing spending will be up 6.1% this year over last, revised down from an earlier estimated 8.0% growth rate projected in March, according to IDC’s 2007 CMO Tech Benchmarks study.

The study was based on an online survey and follow-up telephone interviews with 99 senior marketing executives at IT companies.

Also, for the first time since 2004, tech marketing spending will lag global IT spending, which is projected to grow by 6.7% this year.

Michael Gerard, research director at IDC, pointed to three reasons for the slowdown in tech marketing spending. “Companies are trying to improve their overall operating expenses by implementing cost-control measures, not just in marketing, but in other areas, such as R&D,” he said.

“ROI continues to weigh on marketers, and they are leveraging more online marketing options, such as Web 2.0, which are significantly less expensive than traditional marketing costs and are easier to measure.”

Finally, many marketers are “doing more with less,” such as implementing fewer ad campaigns but with a more targeted focus, he said.

IDC also looked at the breakdown of marketing expenditures. Events make up the greatest share of the marketing budget this year (19.1%), followed by advertising (17.9%), marketing support and sales (14.6%), direct marketing (13.3%), online and interactive marketing (9.9%), public relations (6.3%), collateral (6.3%), research (5.1%), Web (3.6%), analyst relations (2.2%) and “other” (1.7%).

—Kate Maddox