Marketers Expect Internet Marketing Budgets To Increase In 2003.

DoubleClick Inc. released the results of its Fall 2002 Marketing Spending Index study, which is designed to track trends and the adoption of both offline and online marketing tools. The study, a follow up to the 2002 Spring study, is based on nearly 200 marketing professionals in the U.S., from companies with gross revenues of more than $50 million and with marketing budgets exceeding $1 million.

Marketers Expect Budgets To Increase in 2003

The study found that 51% of marketers expect budgets to be higher in 2003 compared to 2002. 43% of marketers expect budgets to remain the same and only 6% expect budgets to decrease. Those marketers who anticipate budget increases expect an average increase of 11%. Furthermore, 57% of marketers expect to increase their spending on email marketing in 2003.

Marketers Recognize The Web As A Substantial Revenue Channel

Marketers agree that the web remains a substantial revenue channel comprising 13% of marketer’s revenue. Furthermore, 63% of marketers expect the website to be the most likely revenue channel to increase. The study also found that 19% of marketers believe that telemarketing is the most likely channel to decrease in revenue, compared to 14% of marketers who think catalog revenue will decrease, and 13% who believe reseller revenue will decrease.

Marketers’ Use Of Online Advertising For Branding Has Increased

Results show that marketers using online for brand awareness increased from 75% to 82% in this Fall study, compared to those using it for direct response which were 43%, compared to 52% in this Fall study. Additionally, the study reveals that when branding awareness is the primary objective, online advertising is perceived as nearly as effective as print, with 4.1 out of 5 compared to 4.2 out of 5, and slightly more effective than radio, with 3.9 out of 5.

“It’s encouraging to see that online advertising and email have become higher priorities in the marketing mix; the study shows that if budgets had to be cut, radio and out of home advertising are more likely than either email or online to be eliminated,” said Doug Knopper, Vice President and General Manager, Online Advertising Solutions, DoubleClick. “Furthermore, the study reveals that the successful marketer will be the one who embraces the website to increase revenue from their customer base.”

Effectiveness And Measurability Still A Concern For Marketers

Just 44% of marketers reported having measurement tools in place, with the majority of marketers claiming that “clicks” and “hits” are their measurement tools for online advertising. 33% of marketers cited that they are unsure about the effectiveness of online advertising, followed by inconsistent reporting cited by 29% of marketers. Furthermore, marketers showed growing concern about the expense of online advertising, from 13% to 19% in this Fall study.

Furthermore, the effectiveness of email ranks high as an impediment to increasing spend on email marketing. 26% of marketers reported this as a concern, compared with 31% of marketers in this Fall study. Specifically,
marketers cited concern about increased volume impacting response rates, with privacy and SPAM the top concerns for 35% of marketers in this study.

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