Interactive Marketing Gains Legitimacy

A recent Forrester Research report predicts that by 2016, U.S. Advertisers will spend $77 billion on interactive marketing— the same amount that advertisers are spending on television advertising today. Advertisers will devote over 35% of their advertising dollars to search marketing, Internet display advertising, mobile and email marketing, and social media.

Marketers will invest more in interactive marketing campaigns because the believe that they will generate better results than traditional advertising over time. Kathleen Sullivan, Vice President of Marketing for Visionary, explains: "Advertisers will devote more resources to interactive marketing campaigns because they can measure the results."There are metrics for nearly every type of digital campaign, and even small businesses can easily monitor their ROI and break it down by categories and channels.

Not so for traditional print media. 

Analyzing the precise reach and ROI of traditional media has proven to be elusive. Response rates are measurable, and subscription numbers help fill in the blanks, but it’s impossible to tell exactly how many prospects open or read print media.

Statistics released by Kantar Media, the leading provider of strategic advertising and marketing information, showed ad expenditures for newspapers and magazines during thefourth quarter declined. Experts suggest this reduction is in part due to the re-allocation of ad dollars to other advertising channels, including digital.

"It's prudent to diversify most marketing with a healthy dose of interactive, in combination with some traditional," Sullivan added. "As always, marketers should keep an eye on the demographics and activities of their respective target markets for best results."