May 5, 2009

Marketers making the move to digital media, report says
Digital budgets up as much as 30 per cent

A recent report by the Society of Digital Agencies, the worldwide voice of digital marketing professionals, shows that the digital marketing industry is strong and growing with over 81 per cent of survey respondents planning to invest the same or more into digital marketing this year despite the economic downturn.

The 2009 Digital Marketing Outlook says that agencies and brands alike see an increase in the overall dollars spent on digital in 2009, although at a slower growth rate than before. With investments in other media decreasing across the board, this means that digital marketing is gaining a significant share of the pie at the expense of traditional media.

More than 77 per cent of traditional advertising agencies are increasing the amount of digital in their budgets by one to 29 per cent and over 10 per cent are upping their online budgets by 30 per cent or more.

Both traditional and digital agencies believe that there will be the same or more digital marketing work in 2009 than in years past. Most brands see the same or greater digital spending, and follow up interviews reveal that while digital marketing budgets are by and large intact so far, brand decision makers are very cautious.

“On balance the evidence suggests that despite the drastic effects of the crisis on marketing in general, the digital arena is suffering less. At SoDA we believe this is because of the growing importance, accountability, and effectiveness of digital marketing, and this survey reflects the digital industry’s confidence in its ability to weather the storm,” reads a statement from the organization.

One thing everyone surveyed agreed upon was that the economic crisis will accelerate the shift of focus and importance from traditional media to digital media. The combination of accountability, convergence and the infusion of digital media into every facet of life make the future look very bright for digital marketers of every kind.

• Additional feedback on the reasons for this included:
• Better Accountability/Tracking
• Improved Customer Relations
• Two-way Communication
• Lower Costs
• More Scalable Budgets
• Able to Target More Accurately
• Required to Reach Younger Demo
• Easier to Integrate into CRM