The marketing industry, like the weather, has been through many peaks and troughs over the past 12 months. We started the year still in the shadows of economic recovery at a time when consumers remained cautious and continued to tighten their purse strings. For marketers this continued to present difficult challenges; how do you encourage people to spend when the future is uncertain and how do you add value and increase customer engagement? However, like the weather, external influences have taken the sector by surprise and while the UK was covered in snow, many in the industry are bracing themselves for even bigger tasks like the rise in VAT. Yet, despite this uncertainty, the outlook still remains strong and at a time of year when people start to wrap up for the Christmas holiday season, we wanted to share our thoughts on what trends are likely to cause a stir in 2011.
The rise of digital marketing
We recently spoke to marketers to find out how their budgets had fluctuated over the past 12 months and the results were particularly encouraging. For instance, over two thirds of respondents (68%) believe 2011 will bring an increase in digital market budgets and suggests a rise in confidence of the results this channel to market can bring.
Digital marketing, in fact, anything digital has long been a buzzword and is a trend that is set to become commonplace in 2011. If proof were needed then the fact UK shoppers are predicted to spend an incredible £6.4 billion online this Christmas should be enough evidence to show the visible difference a combination of digital and traditional marketing can have on the bottom line.
The shift towards video
The industry has been talking about video for a number of years and its use in marketing and advertising is nothing new. Ever since YouTube hit the web, the use of video has been one of the defining trends of the whole sector. Broadcasters are now serving up increasing amounts of their content online and YouTube receives over 1billion online views a day.
This year we’ve witnessed a tremendous shift in the way video online is being taken up by consumers and it is only natural this interest and engagement will drive advertising spend. The conversations we have had echo this sentiment, suggesting that video is set to become firmly integrated into the marketing playbook. In the same survey we found that almost a third of marketers believe video advertising will be one of the most widely used digital formats in 2011. Without a doubt, all eyes will be on video and marketers to should take note and start thinking how this can be integrated into their campaigns.
VAT? What VAT?
Much has been made about the rise in VAT to 20 per cent, but for marketers in 2011, it will mean a much more concentrated focus on targeted campaigns. This is echoed from findings from our study which found that a third of marketers (30%) expect to see a bigger focus on targeted campaigns versus their mass marketing counterparts.
However, a fifth of those we surveyed are planning to streamline their processes and make steps to increase efficiency, while a further 18 per cent are expected to encourage greater emphasis on measurement and ROI. Demonstrating confidence in the industry’s performance, only 18 per cent thought their budgets would be cut as a result of limited resources and just 7 per cent predicted a lack of funds would cause their company’s creativity to be stunted. The message is clear; the rise in VAT will manifest itself in more targeted campaigns that have a real impact on the consumer.
A bright future for 2011
In today’s age of personalisation, where consumers demand and respond much better to tailored communications that take into consideration their behaviours and profiles, this renewed focus on targeting makes economic sense and will help ensure marketers are delivering on the bottom line.
Against this backdrop of uncertain economic times and continued focus on the needs of the individual consumer, we are confident that affiliate marketing will enjoy many more successes in 2011. Not only does it provide an excellent opportunity for those wishing to implement measurable and impactful campaigns, it is also an excellent tool for those looking to monitor, tailor and maximise the ROI of the campaigns they operate.
Liane Dietrich, MD of LinkShare for UTALKMARKETING
