Increase in Development, Execution & Effectiveness of Integrated Marketing Programs.

More than half of marketers surveyed are currently developing and executing integrated marketing communications (IMC) programs according to a new survey from the ANA (Association of National Advertisers). Integrated marketing is the integration of disciplines in the marketing mix creating one unified message to all stakeholders (consumers, employees, retailers, stockholders, etc.) regardless of the media or discipline used.

The ANA survey found that since 2006, the percent of marketers developing and executing integrated marketing programs for all brands/products/services has steadily grown:

2011 – 51 %
2008 – 33 %
2006 – 19 %

Additionally, marketers are more optimistic about the quality of their company’s integrated marketing efforts, with 42 percent of respondents rating its effectiveness as excellent or very good. That is up from 25 percent of marketers surveyed in 2008.

The perceived increase in effectiveness of integrated marketing efforts may be attributed to the greater availability and use of newer media platforms as marketing tools, which allow for better targeting and enhanced metrics.

From 2008 to 2011 there was a significant increase in the percentage of marketers who rated mobile marketing and social media as being “important” or “very important” to their marketing programs.

Nearly three out of four marketers surveyed said that they measure their IMC success by sales growth / volume (74 percent), while 61 percent utilized brand tracking studies for measuring IMC success. Brand tracking typically includes metrics such as awareness, usage, attitude, perception and purchase intent.

“The ANA has been addressing the topic of integrated marketing for over 60 years,” said Bill Duggan, Group EVP of the ANA. “The tools available to marketers have changed in many ways with the explosion in media options, but the importance of integrated marketing is greater than ever as demonstrated by the survey results.”

This survey was conducted online by the ANA during September and October of 2011. This is the fourth survey in eight years conducted by the ANA, seeking the opinions of marketers on their integrated marketing programs. Past surveys were conducted in 2003, 2006 and 2008. Respondents included members of the ANA panel who are periodically surveyed on a range of timely, industry-related topics. In total, 107 client-side marketers participated.

*Due to the recent nature of mobile marketing and social media, these options were not included in the 2003 or 2006 studies.

For more information at http://www.ana.net>