Though European direct marketers expect the effectiveness of Web, e-mail and mobile marketing to improve drastically in the next few years, they plan no large spending increase in these areas. This was the conclusion in a recent Forrester Research study published in cooperation with the Federation of European Direct & Interactive Marketing.
DMers spend just under half of their budgets on new media, according to “Direct Marketers: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.” The study also found that direct marketers in Europe are increasing their budgets 3 percent in 2005 compared with this year.
“European direct marketers can't stop now,” said Jaap Favier, vice president and research director at Forrester. “Internet and e-mail campaigns bring good ROI. Big brands like Nike and L'Oreal have advertised first on the mobile and Web channel to understand the impact of the commercial and who watches it before approving mainstream broadcasts, thus raising their returns.”
Commenting on the findings, Alastair Tempest, director general of FEDMA, said, “Direct marketing is changing rapidly. FEDMA is delighted to have been involved in this research, which we hope will encourage direct marketers to review their media mix to produce truly innovative, creative campaigns. Evidence shows that electronic communications are becoming increasingly popular, for example in France, as a means of distance selling as well as for retaining or finding new customers.”
