Interactive Seven 2009 Supplement - Marketing Week

MWIB_260209_p031 19/2/09 17:38 Page 31
INTERACTIVE ONLINE
Shopping for insights:
Consumers are spending more
time online, and digital experts
are optimistic that the industry
can recover from the credit
crunch
According to estimates from online specialists Goallover,
the proportion of online advertising budgets that are devoted
to online lead generation are expected to rise by at least 71%
across Europe in 2009.
UK advertisers spent an average of £3.4bn on online advertising
last year, according to eMarketer, and Goallover predicts
this will hit £4.3bn in 2010, and over £5bn by 2012.
Global concerns
Goallover managing director Robin Caller says: “With advertisers
rightly demanding both increased value from online
advertising and tangible returns on investment, irrespective
of the current global economic downturn, numerous factors
are potentially responsible for the sharp global adoption of
online advertising.”
Digital agencies are cautiously optimistic that the industry
can recover from the “credit crunch”, so long as brands
“With advertisers
demanding both
increased value and
tangible returns on
investment...
numerous factors
are potentially
responsible for the
sharp global
adoption of online
advertising”
Robin Caller, Goallover
do not panic and cut budgets.
Nick Blunden, managing director of digital agency Profero,
says: “More than ever, marketers are going to have to
focus on what real value is, and how they can bring that to
their market. A knee-jerk budget cut will not help – it’s about
ensuring relevancy and cohesion. Marketing strategies need
to be codependent, rather than linear, in order to make the
money spent work harder.”
MRM Worldwide chief executive Alistair Duncan comments:
“Consumers will spend more and more time online,
which means that brands will need to create useful and meaningful
experiences that connect well with everything else the
brand is doing. Everyone will need to become more imaginative
with their budgets. This will play well to the fleet-offoot
businesses and brands.”
James Murray, vice-president for Europe, Middle East and
Africa at website specialist Interwoven, argues that marketers
should embrace the web and ensure it focuses on customer
retention. “Marketers need to be more focused on how to
retain customers and how to target the competition’s customers,”
he says.
Testing behaviour
“By testing your customer’s behaviour online, you can understand
how they behave offline and therefore develop your
online strategy so it complements your offline work. It takes
months and months to test products and categories offline,
but using optimisation technology in the online environment
allows a brand to test multiple variations of a product in a
matter of hours, ensuring that you offer what your customers
really want,” he adds.
The online advertising sector continues to grow, and
marketers must increasingly focus on it to assure themselves
of a return on investment. The challenge ahead of them is to
ensure that they use the right techniques to generate the success
they desire.
Marketing Week Interactive 31