A study from the European Interactive Advertisers’ Assocation (EIAA) shows that marketers are still willing to invest in online, despite the risk that advertisers will revert to tried and tested old media channels when times are hard.
Some 70 percent of advertisers polled in the annual Marketers’ Internet Ad Barometer survey said their online budgets were increasing this year. Surprisingly, only 47 percent regarded online as an “essential” part of marketing strategy, suggesting that many are happy to put their faith in the traditional TV, print, outdoor and cinema channels. But that figure is still an improvement from 2008, when 38 percent regarded online as essential, and 2006, when the proportion was just 17 percent. Release.
— Online grows, old media shrink: The survey suggests digital is growing at the expense of traditional media: 27 percent of respondents agreed that online’s increase comes directly from a decrease in TV spend; 32 percent thought that newspapers were experiencing reduced spend as a result of a digital increase while 46 percent thought the same for magazines.
— Mobile and video: 23 percent of advertisers who regard online as essential are looking to increase their mobile budgets “significantly” this year, while 30 percent of all respondents said mobile was an established part of their marketing strategy. 35 percent said their use of online video in ad campaigns was growing.
The EIAA may be keen to paint a rosy picture for its members and the wider industry, but the reality is that digital advertising growth predictions have come down dramatically in the past 12 months. The consensus among analysts and commentators is that 2009 will see a modest rise in overall online revenue this — our recent analysis showed an expected 3.94 percent increase for the UK. But it’s a far cry from the big increases most analysts were predicting just six months ago, and the optimism of surveys has to be contrasted with the prevailing opinion that it may be some time before we see a return to real digital growth.
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