Advertisers Fail To Utilise Marketing Potential Of Websites
The UK’s major advertisers are not making enough use of their website addresses in marketing campaigns, according to research from the Direct Mail Information Service (DMIS).
The study of 100 UK companies with an average ad spend of £5.3 million, shows that advertisers routinely include their website URL in marketing campaigns, but that few have recognised the potential of using their site as a direct response mechanism.
According to the DMIS, 77% of the UK’s top advertisers always include their website address in marketing activity, while a further 15% often do so. Only 22% always use their site as a direct call to action and just under 8% of advertisers have never included their URL in an ad campaign.
Direct mail was found to be the most commonly used medium to promote a website, with 48% of companies regularly including their URL in a mail-shot. Mailings are also the most likely to include a website as a direct response mechanism and 27% of brands used them in this way in their last campaign.
The survey also found that the level of traffic generated through direct mail is 2.5 times higher that for any other media. National press, new media and PR are commonly used by 19% of advertisers to promote their URL, outdoor by 16%, magazines by 14% and national TV by 13%.
The DMIS has concluded that major advertisers are still using their websites as an extension of their marketing campaigns, rather than as direct marketing tools. It suggests that greater integration of websites with advertising objectives could change this balance as companies use their digital assets to drive sales.
Last month the DMIS released figures showing that direct mail expenditure increased by 9.7% year on year during the second quarter of 2002 to £527 million (see Direct Mail Shows Sustained Growth During Q2).
DMIS: 0207 494 0403 www.dmis.co.uk
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