Trading Co.'s Adspend Takes Off With Market

At the height of the dot-com boom four years ago, E*Trade was spending $140 million a year on advertising that put a chimpanzee’s face on online trading.

The company’s ad budget fell with the economy two years later. But in an effort to capitalize on a stock-market upswing while using a more conservative, product-centered strategy, E*Trade has doubled its marketing budget from last year, putting $90 million behind an ad and direct marketing effort that broke last week from Omnicom Group’s Martin/Williams.

“The company has evolved, and our messages have evolved with it,” said Pam Kramer, chief marketing officer at the Menlo Park, Calif.-based