Promo - May 2008 - (Page 36)

HOW BULLETPROOF? TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES MAY MAKE DIGITAL MORE IMPORTANT BY BRIAN QUINTON If a recession hits, will interactive marketing be one of the first budget lines on the chopping block? That question hangs in the air over the 2008 Promo Interactive Marketing survey. The economic climate is uncertain. Consumer confidence has sprung a leak. Retail sales are down. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke hints that a recession may be “possible.” Even the great and powerful Google saw paid search clicks flatten out in February, according to comScore’s figures. Despite all that, Promo’s research suggests that marketers will raise their bets on interactive promotion. More than 43% expect to increase budgets this year. That’s down a tad from the 49% last year who predicted greater online spending—but still a strong vote of confidence. Taken with the 37% this year expecting their interactive expenses will stay the same, it suggests stable growth for the broad range of interactive channels. Even in a difficult economy, when sales and conversions are presumably harder to come by, interactive marketing remains a valuable way to get a message out to customers—and may in fact be more valuable than ever. “Digital is now integral to marketing,” says Daniel Stein, CEO of EVB, an Omnicom agency. Omnicom and New York’s Toy were the minds behind the Office Max “Elf Yourself” viral campaigns. “Not only are they not cutting back on their digital campaigns, but our clients are looking at a lot of digital-only plays. That’s where their consumers spend their time, so it’s more efficient.” “If you’ve got to manage your marketing budget to a tight ROI, search and e-mail are the last channels you’re going to cut back on because they’re more measurable than anything else online of off,” adds Sarah Hofstetter, vice president of emerging media and client strategy for 360i, an agency that designs digital campaigns—including social media—for clients from Comedy Central to H&R Block. “And with other online channels, at least you can say these people played this Web game this many times in a given day,” she adds. “That’s still a heck of a lot more measurable than a billboard.” The survey also shows that marketers are going far beyond e-mail and newsletters to engage customers 1. TACTICS FOR ENGAGEMENT 72.6% 73.0% 60.8% 63.5% WHICH TYPES OF INTERACTIVE MARKETING DO YOU USE? ■ 2007 ■ 2008 * Not measured in 2007 80% 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 36.9% 46.6% 39.2% 44.5% 35.1% 22.8% 27.0% 15.6% 24.3% 13.3% 19.6% 27.0% 40.5% 17.9% 16.9% 12.5% 14.9% 11.0% 10.1% 3.4% 6.8% 16.0% 6.8% 13.7% 27.0% 6.8% 6.8% 5.4% * * * * * * * Bl og Vi s Mo ral c am bil pa (i n e t ig cl. ex dig t m ns ita ess ne t w P l co a g i o r k ro u p n g m o P s (e os n s W r o m . g. , o n s ) eb os M oc s i t o n yS p i a l es sh ac (e . a r e) g. , e d Yo vid uT eo ub e Po ) Mo dc bil ast ev s ide oc on ten t 36 may 2008 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo On ds li an ne g -ba d c am oe se d s ntes s ts we ep sta Inke ga s me ma r ke tin g On lin W es idg cr P r (e . g i p te d e t s ese ., W c nc eb o nte e in (e . i n v i r s o d e t s g. , t u al ) Se w co o r nd lds Lif e) W eb rs ng s ion s t te on ad he r zat oti ark sle l ay Ot ro m mi ew sp il m pti il n ep Di ma ho ma lin On E- Se a rc E- Pa id se a rc ha eti 2.7% http://WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - May 2008

Promo - May 2008 Contents Editor's Note Eyeballs All the Same... NBC Makes 'Law & Order' a Mobile Game Recession Rewards Comfort Virally Toaster on Wheels Commentary Ay Caramba! The 2008 Interactive Marketing Awards Winners How Bulletproof? Q&A: What a Ride Resource Center The Agency Center Blogging 101 Index of Advertisers

Promo - May 2008

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