Hermes International have reported an 8.5% rise in 2009 revenue, due to an end of year increase in sales of hand-stitched handbags and silk scarves.

2009 revenue has been reported at EUR1.91 billion, the 2008 figure was EUR1.76 billion.

Hopefully an sign that the recession is coming to an end?

Emarketer have published today the findings from a study by the Aberdeen Group looking into ROI within social media marketing.

The study found that 63% of the companies within the survey (defined as best-in-class) are planning to up their social media marketing budget for 2009.

The research also discovered that 39% of the companies surveyed said it was somewhat difficult to measure social media and 20% said it was very difficult. This highlights an interesting point in that even at a time when digital budgets are being scrutinised companies are still considering increasing  investment in a medium that’s hard to quantify.  I feel this underlines the importance and value that companies now put on social media, plus and most importantly how social media stands alone as platform within the digital media space.