Econsultancy and SAS report – Digital marketing budgets increase; business analytics top in marketing technology 

23 February 2011 - Today, Econsultancy published its annual Marketing Budgets 2011 report, focused on the state of UK marketing spend. The report, sponsored by SAS UK, the leader in business analytics software and services, is based on a survey of more than 500 in-house and agency marketers carried out between December 2010 and January 2011.

The overall conclusion drawn from the survey is that companies are continuing to increase their digital marketing budgets as the economy slowly recovers from recession. It also re-enforces the need for companies to use technology, such as business analytics, to closely monitor and measure marketing results.  

The report analyses relative levels of planned spending in the year ahead across a range of marketing channels. It also looks at online and offline budgets, investments in marketing technologies and then compares year-on-year results.

Key highlights from the report include:

• Nearly three-quarters (72%) of responding companies are increasing their digital marketing budgets this year, up from 68% a year ago.
• Companies increasing their digital marketing budgets are doing so by an average 35% year-on-year, up from 33% last year.
• The results reflect an improving economic outlook with just over half (52%) of companies increasing their overall marketing budgets for 2011, up from 47% the same time a year ago.
• While digital continues to be a focus for increasing marketing budgets, companies are more likely to increase their budgets for a range of offline marketing channels, than they would have a year ago. The proportion of companies increasing TV investment is up by 8% (to 31%), while radio is up by 11% (to 25%).
• Out of a range of marketing technologies, the research found that companies are most likely to be investing in business analytics and web analytics software, with 45% of respondents saying that spending here will increase in 2011. This focus reflects the on-going need to improve and measure the effectiveness of marketing channels, and how they relate to each other. The next most buoyant areas for technology investment are CRM (40%), content management systems (39%) and email platforms (also 39%).

Richard Kellett, Director of Marketing, SAS UK said: “The marketing environment continues to evolve in radically new ways.  The proliferation of new channels, and changes in how we communicate through these channels, continues to put significant pressure on both our marketing budgets, and the skills and imagination of marketing professionals. It comes as no surprise then, that in this economic environment, we have seen companies looking to rely more on analytics software to not only help measure and improve the effectiveness of their marketing activities but also justify the allocated budget.”

Econsultancy Research Director Linus Gregoriadis said: "While digital continues to be buoyant, there is also evidence of a comeback for offline marketing channels including television and radio channels in particular. The effectiveness and measurability of digital is giving companies confidence that offline marketing investment is also paying dividends. Companies are investing in offline marketing channels to complement increased digital investment, with integrated campaigns which – for example - use television and radio advertisements to drive searches and website traffic."

Report URL: For a complimentary copy of the Marketing Budgets 2011 Report, please visit www.SASKnowledgeCentre.com/ECRpt

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