Archive for the ‘Marketing News’ Category

New research from Edelman (with chart compliments of Marketing Charts) shows that your audience needs to hear your message 3-5 times in order to believe it to be true. Does that surprise you? I actually thought it would take more exposure than that.

What does this tell us?

Right Message + Right Time + Reach + Repetition = RESULTS

So, what's all this about digital marketing taking over the world? According to a new study by Edelman which is captured by Marketing Charts:

32% of informed publics* in 20 countries around the world say they trust traditional information sources a great deal, representing a 10% rise from 29% in 2011, and remaining ahead of online sources, which rose 18% from 22% to 26% of these respondents.

It's true that social media showed the largest growth in trust of the various media sources, with 14% citing a great deal of trust, up 75% from 8% in 2011. And that's a good thing.

BUT, don't disregard traditional sources because they cost more than digital. Do the research for your organization and determine the most ideal multi-channel marketing approach.

* Informed publics: aged 25-64, college-educated, in the top 25% of household income per age group in their country, and reporting significant media consumption and engagement in business news and public policy.

According to December 2011 data from Kantar Media, total US advertising expenditures in the first nine months of 2011 increased 1.5% from a year ago, finishing the period at $104.7 billion. Not bad for marketing channels that appeared to be on their last breath not too long ago.

Some interesting gains were made in these channels:

• Expenditures on cable networks grew 9.9% year-to-date.
• Ad spending in Spanish Language Television jumped 18% during Q3 2011 compared to Q3 2010.
• Syndication TV was up 14.8% for the period.
• Outdoor spending registered gains of 8.6% for the first 9 months.
• Magazine media spending rose 1.5% for the year-to-date.
• The Internet sector was up 2.8% compared to a year earlier.
• Display ad expenditures increased 10.1% for the year-to-date.

What does this say? I think it means that we shouldn't mourn the loss of traditional media yet. The more the pendulum has swung to digital marketing tactics, the more marketers have learned the value of multichannel marketing mixes – including traditional channels.

What do you think? Will traditional marketing channels make gains in 2012? Are YOU using these channels in your own marketing strategy?

Bet you never thought you'd see a comeback in something as traditional as direct mail. Well, lo and behold, it's happening. According to a study by marketing services firm, Epsilon, 50% of U.S. consumers prefer direct mail to email. No kidding!

And, get this… the study also found that one-quarter of all U.S. consumers said they found direct mail to be “more trustworthy” than email.

With recent growth in electronic methods of communication, some people may find this surprising. But, if you factor in the benefits now of tracking direct mail through its drive to online landing pages, it begins to make sense. Plus, a lot of people just like… dare I say it? PAPER!

Other findings:

• The perception that reading email is faster than reading postal mail declined among U.S. email account holders from 47% in 2010 to 45% this year.
• 75% of consumers say they get more email than they can read.
• 60% said they enjoy checking their physical mailboxes, highlighting what the study refers to as an “emotional connection” to postal mail.

What do you make of this? Are you using direct mail? Have you reduced your direct mail marketing in the past couple of years? Any plans to return to it in 2012?