Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

Rapid growth in mobile marketing has been predicted for years. And this year, finally, spending on this format will exceed the $1 billion mark. The lofty projections stem from growing evidence of increasing smartphone use by consumers and marketer acceptance of the mobile channel.

Marketers continue to allocate a significant percentage of their budgets to paid search advertising. The latest projections indicate that spending on this marketing format will reach $19.3 billion in 2011. But marketers also want to ensure that their spending yields a return so this year they are taking steps to increase click through rates (CTR) at a lower cost.

As media companies enjoy rising sales during the economic recovery, they are mindful of the huge technology disruptors that have taken place in their industry. In every sector of traditional media, senior managers are attempting to give their companies a foothold in the new digital landscape. The State of the Media report from Vocus indicates that some sectors are finding more success than others.

Now that consumers are traveling again, hotel, motels, and bed and breakfast inns are marketing hard for new business. At the same time, marketing tools that have become available to merchants offering accommodations have changed significantly. Operators say they’re adjusting their strategies to stay current with consumer interests.

There’s little question that the daily deal sector is hot property for service providers and marketers. Two of the biggest talking points on the topic are whether marketers are actually getting new customers and whether the low barriers to entry will allow traditional media companies to move into and operate profitably in this space.

A couple of weeks ago, the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) reported that revenue from digital formats is increasing quickly this year. A close look at the change in radio audience and technology advances explains why. Consumers are using an ever growing range of devices to tune into their favorite stations, prompting radio operators to offer interactive entertainment in multiple formats.