Study: CMOs Want More Cross-Channel Data

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A clear majority of senior marketers -- 67% -- are now running cross-channel campaigns, yet only 12% are integrating performance data across channels, according to new research from rich media purveyor Eyeblaster in conjunction with TNS Media Intelligence.

One reason? "Technology has hit a plateau, holding agencies and brands back," according to the March survey of 400 senior marketing executives.

A majority -- about 60% -- of marketers say they would like to integrate data more often, but they rarely do because of a lack of confidence in the numbers.

Moreover, some 44% or respondents blame a lack of suitable metrics to measure impact, 37% blame lack of case studies showing cross-channel effectiveness, and 34% cite lack of technology.

Worse still, most marketers report that they feel that clients fail to see the big picture with regard to digital, and, generally speaking, believe that not enough money is being put behind it.

Indeed, over two-thirds of respondents say their clients know just enough to get by, or can use the term "Web 2.0" but really don't know what it means. On the other side, the majority of advertisers think that agencies know only about as much as they do, and that fully 15% of agencies only know enough to get by.

"We attribute this frustration to the fact that the market sits between reality and expectations, not moving fast enough and showing signs that we are still far away from a tipping point of both deployment and deep understanding of digital technology and its applications," according to the report.

In general, marketers are still in the early stages of cross-channel data analysis and comparisons with most marketers only comparing the effects of online comparisons for TV, mobile or outdoor, the report finds.

Obviously, of particular interest to Eyeblaster, 63% of marketers credited interactive display rich media with driving both brand building and response. Still -- showing the relative immaturity of the industry -- over 73% of respondents still cite rich media as "cutting edge," as opposed to "cross channel" at 48%.

Looking ahead, once enabled to accept digital advertising, respondents expect mobile and TV to be the top channels for branding and response, as well as the go-to channels for brand-response synergy.

Overall, respondents still expect total market spending to grow by 30% over the next two years, with a third of the market experiencing growth over 50%.

2 comments about "Study: CMOs Want More Cross-Channel Data".
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  1. Jan Zlotnick from the zlotnick group, June 15, 2009 at 10:25 a.m.

    My sense of it is that better data-analyses technology is coming or here (like Eyeblaster) and not getting through to either advertisers or agencies. CMOs and agencies can be more pioneering in using what's there, even if not perfected (what research is?)...and CMOs and agencies can be more innovative in conducting ethnographic and other soft studies -- "heartbeat" technologies -- to follow and analyze behavior.
    If a clear majority of senior marketers are now running cross-channel campaigns, there's already a wisdom in that crowd, right? That's research in itself, based not just on CMO "gut" but on an accumulated knowledge AND gut. And, hey, don't discount gut. It still the defining characteristic (and research metric) of a leadership brand.
    The data from the March survey, citing 400 senior marketing executives, is just a sampling of the "reasons" cited...it might be best to study the context and layering of the entire study, how questions were asked, what environment, etc, and even then...to use our own gut on what we do with this quote and this and any study. The key analysis to me was the commentary, "In general, marketers are still in the early stages of cross-channel data analysis and comparisons with most marketers only comparing the effects of online comparisons for TV, mobile or outdoor, the report finds."
    Yes, and brand leaders, or those who will be the next leaders, look, listen, read, and ACT in the early stages of unrefined research.

  2. John Haake from Gotham Advisory, LLC, June 15, 2009 at 11:11 a.m.

    Download a copy of Digital Horizons: The Chasm between expectation and execution:

    http://www.eyeblaster.com/Forms/EB_Research/form.html

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