Consumers have the upper hand in brand relationships—you’ve heard that countless times. Now comes some hard data that shows changing consumer behavior is the No. 1 reason brands and agencies are reallocating their marketing investments. And it’s unlikely a huge surprise that those dollars are being fed into digital initiatives—chief among them: social media.
Those are just a few of the top-level findings gleaned from the “2011 Digital Marketing Outlook,” the Society of Digital Agencies’ (SoDA) third annual survey, conducted with research partner AnswerLab. More than 600 brand marketers—two-thirds of whom have titles in the range of CMO to director and boasting an average budget of $800K--agency representatives, and digital-media technologists participated in the survey. For the second year in a row, CMO.com is pleased to present you the results. Over the next four weeks we will additionally serve up host of associated insightful articles designed to inspire you, validate your thinking, and fuel action.
(Click here for the special report's landing page, which now includes our fourth, and final, installment of articles.)
“The bottom line is that brands need to get the basics in place before they dive into all the new opportunities,” says Tony Quin, CEO of IQ and a SoDA board member. “Job One is developing a strategy that prioritizes which tactics in the digital toolbox to invest in, and when. It always amazes me that despite the complexity of connecting with the digital consumer throughout the sales cycle, brands often have not done the strategy work that sets out the roadmap.”
The 2011 Digital Marketing Outlook explores a multitude of topics that make it very clear the era of integrated marketing is very much here. For example:
>> Social media: A whopping 95% of survey respondents say they’ll be using social media this year—specifically their corporate Web sites, Facebook, and Twitter. “Our Web site is still our most important digital media channel, with over 300 million unique visitors per month,” says Ann Lewnes, SVP of global marketing at Adobe Systems (CMO.com’s parent company) and a SoDA advisory board member. “Study after study shows it is the No. 1 place our customers consult before purchase.”
>> Marketing measurement: Brand/product awareness, lead-generation activity, and Web analytics are the important metrics for gauging advertising performance—far more significant than traditional page views or CPM. “Marketers are becoming sophisticated analysts and are demanding more from the quantifiable metrics that the Web has offered for the past 16 years,” says Angele Beausoleil, the survey’s editor-in-chief and VP of strategy and innovation at Dare.
>> Investment areas: Eight out of 10 marketers project an increase in the number of digital projects they’ll take on this year, along with a subsequent boost in headcount to support those projects. “If used and monitored for efficiencies in targeting, digital production, etc., a digital strategy should increase year over year in double-digit percentages with no incremental investment,” says Scott McLaren, General Motors’ director of global digital marketing, CRM, and Web operations.
>> Mobile's emergence: Though mobile trails most of its fellow digital channels at the moment in terms of marketing mix dominance and investment, its up-and-coming potential is recognized by survey respondents. From smartphone apps and location-based services to e-coupons and social games, marketers expect to crank up their mobile efforts this year and next. “We are indeed slowly mobilizing, but the solution is not to take existing Web sites and experiences and port them to a new platform,” says Brian Jeremy, director of technology at Exopolis. “Take a step back to fully understand all aspects of the platform—the evolution, the advantages, and the disadvantages—and then embark on strategic efforts to create the ideal solution.
Now it’s time to let SoDA’s report tell the story. In addition, click here for insight from members of the SoDa team.
A SlideShare of the entire report is also available for free download here.
>> Click here for results from the 2010 Digital Marketing Outlook survey.
Back to the 2011 Digital Marketing Outlook home page.
