Video And Social Media Fuels Optimism For Digital Marketing Industry

The storm-clouds that have lingered over the economy are slowly lifting with the result that optimism is returning to advertisers and publishers alike according to a new survey. 73.6% of respondents believe that revenues will be up in 2010 versus 2009, in a study that reached out to over 5,000 publishers, advertisers, brand managers and leading media agencies.

The Datran Media survey sought to establish just how optimistic the industry feels about the recovery, which marketing channels are likely to see increased budget allocation and how marketers plan to incorporate into the mix new ways to reach prospective customers.

Email was cited as the strongest performing channel in 2009 (39%), followed by search (24%), offline (9%), affiliate marketing (9%), display (7%), direct mail (6%), social media (5%) and mobile (1%).

But, while email is still seen as being the most effective channel, the opportunities offered by fast-growing channels like social media and mobile have clearly caught the attention of most marketers. Although budgets for these are currently at the lower end of the scale, marketers clearly expect to significantly expand use of these approaches in the future.

Interest in online video, mobile and other emerging digital channels has significantly increased over the last year, with 67.2% of survey respondents planning to leverage video and 54.4% planning mobile marketing initiatives for smart phones in 2010. The survey also confirmed that marketers are extremely savvy on the social media front. 72.3% of respondents have a company Facebook page, and 72% have a company Twitter account. However, marketers remain skeptical on whether or not social media marketing results will be quantifiable by the end of this year, with 37.6% of respondents expressing uncertainty.

Quantifiability is still key in the digital media domain, of course. The survey illustrates that with budgets still tight, marketers have a continuing need to prove ROI and therefore intend to aggressively deploy online measurement tools in order to obtain actionable business intelligence. This trend will accelerate the budget allocation shift into measurable digital channels going forward.

For the majority of marketers surveyed, clicks (72%), conversions (59.2%) and impressions (58.4%) remain the top three metrics that matter. Respondents also made clear that audience measurement is critical with 87.2% of respondents saying that it is important for driving increased brand awareness, increased revenue, and better campaign performance.

Datran Media - the parent company of the multi-channel media network NetMargin - carried out the survey in December, 2009. Jason Oates, their SVP of Media told us, "The survey provides key insights into what is working in online marketing."

"Almost every brand with a Web presence has ongoing search and display campaigns, but what is surprising is that many direct response and brand advertisers still don't effectively employ email advertising strategies," he continued.

"Email's ability to deliver large format brand creative with exclusive, timely offers is unsurpassed. At a time when consumers have cut back on spending, it is more important than ever for marketers to get their campaign messages right the first time consumers interact with their brands online," he said.

Ultimately, the results of the survey speak to an increased move towards digital marketing as a whole. An overwhelming 93.6% of respondents intend to increase budget allocation for digital marketing channels. The broad industry trend towards measurable, performance marketing is still accelerating with measurability, social media, mobile technologies, local adverting and campaign integration all serving to fuel the engine of growth.