Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

Even the smallest business operators are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. A significant minority of businesses with 4 or fewer employees says the economy has somewhat improved in the past 12 months. As a result, these small businesses plan to increase advertising, especially online, this year.

There’s little debate that social media is the hot topic for the year. Yet few can determine if this tool will ultimately excel as a marketing platform or a customer management system. A recently published study points out that surveyed customers of the Top 40 retailers in the U.S. prefer to hear about sales and promotions via more traditional means. Study analysts point out that as retailers continue to explore social media, they should consider their unique business models when determining the appropriate promotional media mix.

Marketers have made significant changes to their media mix in the past decade. For the most part, the shift to Internet/online has been significant and has come largely at the expense of the traditional print market. Through last year, the Internet/online channel has jumped to the number 2 spot for ad spending focus by many marketers, according to surveyed agencies. Industry watchers might have expected the digital channel to be the primary focus but survey results from Strata show why marketers still make spot TV their top concern.

The study also reveals the best time for marketers to release e-mails which target mobile devices. Early morning is a peak time for consumers to read e-mail on mobile devices. The second highest day part for this activity is late evening when consumers are done watching TV or completing other tasks before turning in. Consumers also show a tendency to check e-mail via mobile phones at the end of the work day.

Now that more consumers are migrating from their hard copy glossy magazines to a digital format on a device such as an iPad, marketers want to know – are consumers engaged by advertisements that appear on digital devices? A new study funded by Adobe and carried out by an independent researcher finds that the interactive ads have a positive effect on consumers.

Consumers are communicating with each other at higher rates than ever before – perhaps because they have new channels available to them. These new methods of communicating, especially mobile email, are changing the ways consumers stay in touch. This means marketers will need to adjust their tactics to stay top of mind with consumers.