Free Study Results: Online Marketing Survey

MediaPost and Dynamic Logic teamed up to conduct a survey of nearly 1,100 readers a couple of weeks ago and the results have just been released. Digital marketing is poised for growth in 2007, but it's not quite at the levels that some would like to see.

The respondents represented buyers (agencies and marketers) and sellers (media companies) with about a third of responses in each; the remaining third was made up of technology solutions providers, consultants and researchers. I'll give you the summary, but if you'd like the PDF of the study results, click here.

Some top-line results:

• Half of the respondents said there were some buzzwords they'd like to put an end to, namely "Web 2.0" and "engagement." (Amen!)
• The majority said that <20%>
• 81% will be increasing the use of Web advertising
• 41% will be increasing the use of Mobile advertising
• Overall, 86% said that Web budgets & plans would be increasing over last year
• Half feel that viral advertising is a "fad for the lucky few" and 24% believe that "anyone can do viral"

Plans for heavy investment this year:

• Search - 48%
• Email - 38%
• Online video - 38%
• Social networks - 34%

In terms of the spending on search, pay per click (PPC) is expected to make up the largest proportion.

And just to prove that we had no idea how to cohesively define "Web 2.0," when asked to define "Web 3.0" respondents were all over the map:

• Web of interconnected data
• Big media mingling with individuals
• Virtual and offline blending
• A world of on demand content
• All of the above
• Don't know

For the agency folks out there, 38% overall said that agencies were becoming more relevant (hardly surprising since the respondents were 1/3 agency/marketer folks). Sellers were evenly split, 1/3 each thinking that agencies will be more relevant, less relevant, or about the same.

And proving that things are moving the the right direction but still have a way to go, about 60% think that the quality of online creative is getting "a little better" and 24% believe it is "much improved."