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Where Digital Investments Are Going And The Barriers

It should come as a surprise only to Rip Van Winkle that marketers plan to increase digital spend over the next 12 months, especially since there is no such thing as non-digital. But brands are still having trouble figuring out how to do it in an integrated fashion. Digital marketing firm IgnitionOne has come out with a "status check," the "2013 Integrated Marketing Survey," on where brands' digital investments are going and what the barriers are. 

"Moving away from complexity and toward simplicity is something that all marketers strive for, but aren't all actually doing," Will Margiloff, IgnitionOne CEO, said in a statement. "This report further highlights the need for marketers to break down the silos within their organization and the challenges that they face in centralizing and integrating their digital efforts."

The study is based on surveys of marketing directors, managers and team members. Almost half of those surveyed are directors and a quarter are VP's. While it’s a global survey, over half polled are in the U.S. 

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Almost all marketers queried said they will increase digital allocation over the next year. About half of them said they are planning to increase digital media advertising spend by 11% to 20%; 36% said they predict they will increase mobile search investment during that period and the same percentage said mobile display will also see an increase in monetary support. Nearly as many said social advertising will see bigger purses over the next year. 

About half of the brand marketers surveyed said they are currently spending between a quarter to half a million dollars per month on digital marketing. Eighteen percent said they are spending between $100,000 and $250,000; and 14% between $500,000 and a million. But almost a quarter don't track how one form of paid media affects another and 38% say the technology to build an integrated digital marketing strategy is too complicated. 

Another trend is toward bringing channel management in house, as nearly 50% of respondents said all of their media channels are now managed within the company walls, with 9% having one external provider and 23% having a mix of external providers.  

The IgnitionOne report argues that automation tactics like content personalization, dynamic interaction served across paid media and automated email campaigns are "Increasingly becoming more important for marketers attempting to tailor the online shopping experience," because they get better lead generation and stronger conversion rates. "Over time, marketing automation should span more areas of marketers’ digital efforts and should consume a greater portion of marketers’ budgets."

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