BtoB Media Business - September 2012 - (Page 8)

COVER STORY E X C L U S I V E S T U DY What marketers want from media Marketing services valued for lead-gen, but challenges remain BY CHRISTOPHER HOSFORD M edia companies have significant opportunities to help marketers generate leads through the marketing services they offer, according to a new study by Media Business. ¶ “Leveraging the Power of Marketing Services” found that 62% of marketers consider lead generation to be their most important objective in purchasing marketing services from media companies, followed by customer acquisition (38%), sales (37%) and brand awareness (35%). The study was based on an online survey of 231 marketing professionals and other executives during June and July of this year. More than half of the respondents (51%) had such titles as director or manager of marketing/products/communications, with such other titles as exec VP, senior VP or VP of marketing, products and communications. The largest verticals represented included technology companies (24%), manufacturing (17%), agencies (11%) and financial services (9%). Among other key findings of the study: Marketers view audience reach as a key advantage of publisher marketing services, followed by the ability of media companies to segment their data appropriately for better targeting. “Technology is allowing marketers to measure their investments, and they’re making big bets on this,” said Peter Goldstone, CEO of Hanley Wood, whose marketing division offers more than 100 different marketing services products. “Publishers have to lead with our unique selling proposition, our expertise in the market, our databases and our expertise in the sectors that marketers serve.” According to the study, the key motivator for marketers to align with publishers lies in the unique products and services that media companies bring to the table. These include lead-gen programs, custom content, social media monitoring and reputation management services, and content licensing. Randall Rozin, global director-brand management and marketing communications at Dow Corning Corp., said much depends on the strength and core competencies of the publishers with which he deals. “In general we find that publishers can offer a unique view of—and access to—their given target markets,” he said. “We’ve found marketing services that offer us the ability to repurpose content as sales aids to ourtarget audience and channel partners add a lot of value to our credibility in a market.” In making the decision to allocate budgets to marketing services, 58% of marketers said they want to take advantage of media companies’ reach across important In considering purchasing marketing services that are offered from a media company, please indicate your company’s most important objectives. Lead generation Customer acquisition Sales Brand awareness 35 38 37 26 Lead mgmt./nurturing 24 Website traffic 21 Thought leadership 20 Engagement 18 Customer retention/loyalty 14 SEO 62% Which of the following forms of content from a publication or a media property do you use in content marketing? Websites or microsites Print or online newsletters White papers Digital content Webcasts/webinars 19 Virtual events 17 Video portals 16 Content licensing 15 Custom magazines 13 Podcasts 51 48 56 64% 61 What are the most important factors in determining how much you will spend with a media company on marketing, agency and communications services? Audience reach Data targeting Audience composition 41 33 Customized program operations 27 Audience knowledge integration opportunities 18 Ease of buying process 14 Ad sales customer service 43 61% Source: “Leveraging the Power of Marketing Services,” Media Business, June-July 2012 8 | Media Business | September 2012 | mediabusinessonline.com http://www.mediabusinessonline.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BtoB Media Business - September 2012

BtoB Media Business - September 2012
Table of Contents
Upfront
Cover Story
Budgeting for 2013
Sales & Marketing
M&A
Production
People
Benchmarks
Endnote

BtoB Media Business - September 2012