Marketing Charts recently produced data analyzing where ad spend is going in a number of mediums. The headline of “Global Ad Spend Outlook Worsens for Most Media” is an accurate headline, but doesn’t tell the full story. From a distributed marketing perspective, there’s opportunity as the multichannel, digital component of the advertising pie continues to grow.
In terms of various marketing channels, highlights of the report include….
- A projected 13.9% growth in year over year Internet advertising spending
- TV and radio ad spend essentially flat, with growth projections of 2.5% and 1.4% year over year
- Magazines and newspaper spend to decline by 4+%
Global trends warrant mentioning…
- The global ad growth rate year over year is 3.4%
- USA ad spend only expected to grow by 1.8%
- BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India & China) will have much to do with the growth. Brazil is projected to see a growth rate of 8.1%, Russia 12.1% India 8.4%, and China 9.7%
Internet advertising mediums are where the action clearly is. Over the next 5 years, the companies that differentiate themselves in terms of their performance with various Internet mediums are the ones who will be most likely to experience enhanced marketing return on investment numbers and corporate financial performance numbers. The USA and Western Europe are projected to be limited growth markets in the near term, so companies that derive a significant share of their income in these markets are going to have to find an advantage in the way that they choose to communicate and position products in the marketing mix. Granted, there are still opportunities for success in these markets and the unique circumstances that affect each company will determine their own courses of action. For global enterprises, growth will be derived from BRIC markets and a few other emerging markets globally, so it is expected that many companies will allocate more resources into their market research and marketing communication efforts in these emerging markets.
Regardless of the relative strength or weakness of broader market trends and various macroeconomies, the use of multichannel, distributed marketing automation software is likely to be a significant driver of the outcomes of various marketing endeavors. The growth in Internet advertising signals a growth in the complexity of in the marketing environment. A complex marketing environment calls for solutions to simplify the content management, optimization and distribution process, which is the essence of the Distributed Marketing Platform.