Companies will spend more on digital and online marketing than print advertising for the first time in 2010, according to projections from Outsell, a research and advisory firm for publishing and information companies.
Outsell expects companies to spend $119.6 billion on online and digital marketing, while allocating $111.5 billion on print marketing this year, according to the company’s “Marketing and Ad Spending Study 2010: Total US and B2B Advertising.”
The advisory firm, which surveyed more than 1,000 recipients last December, predicted total US advertising and marketing spending will increase 1.2% in 2010 to $368 billion.
Print magazine advertising will increase 1.9% this year to $9.4 billion, despite being overtaken by Web-based channels, according to the survey.
The study also revealed that business-to-business advertisers view cross-media marketing as their most effective strategy, with 78% combining three or more major marketing methods in their campaigns. Meanwhile, more than half of respondents (51%) rated Facebook as extremely or somewhat effective, while 45% said the same of LinkedIn. More than one-third (35%) felt that way about Twitter, and one-quarter (25%) said MySpace was extremely or somewhat effective.
Late last year, ZenithOptimedia predicted 0.9% growth in ad spending to nearly $448 billion this year, while GroupM forecasted 0.8% growth to $448 billion. Magna Global said global advertising would increase 6% to $380 billion in 2010. All three said that Internet advertising would lead other categories in growth.
Industry group The CMO Club and Bazaarvoice, a social commerce vendor, found last year that eight in 10 respondents to a study expected to link up to 10% of their annual advertising spend to social media.
