IPA Bellwether Q3 2014: Industry analysis
The latest IPA Bellwether Report, covering the third quarter of 2014, has revealed that marketing budgets were revised up for the eighth consecutive quarter, and to the third highest level in the survey’s 14 year history, as companies “remain bullish” about the business outlook.
Here, Newsline presents industry reaction from Possible, Indicia, Gekko, Jaywing and MEC.
Justin Cooke, UK CEO, POSSIBLE
The IPA Bellwether report reinforces our sense of the relentless shift towards a digitally dominated media landscape and an ever-growing confidence in digital as an effective channel in engaging consumers, not least due to its ability to target and subsequently measure what matters.
This is reflected not just in proportion of spend but also in the fact that more brilliant ideas are being led by digital, a real-time, newsroom approach to content, an agile approach to working and the appointment of digital leaders into the most senior marketing positions of the UK’s biggest brands.
My only question is that due to the ubiquitous nature of the internet, whether it is time for the Bellwether report to revisit how it is currently categorising spend.
Ian Stockley, MD, Indicia
It’s encouraging to see another optimistic Bellwether Report and it is certainly an exciting time for marketing professionals. The boost in digital spend isn’t surprising given the growing importance of engaging with the connected consumer. Brands are now required to invest more in order to put capabilities, technology and strategy in place to meet consumer expectations.
Our clients are benefiting from data driven optimisation programmes that allow them to understand where best to spend their last bit of budget. This means that they know exactly which messages, channels and campaigns to dial up or down at any point in time.
This gives them (and their boards) confidence to invest. The challenge facing marketers will be to tap into major global events to reach their audiences with engaging and relevant content via the right channels. Consumer expectations are higher than ever before so the pressure is on for marketers to relevantly entertain, inform, interact and engage us all.
Moving forward the most customer-centric campaigns will achieve the best levels of success.
Dan Todaro, MD, Gekko
It looks likely that 2014 will be an even better year than predicted and we’ve now witnessed eight consecutive quarters of growth. The industry seems to have put the worries of the recession behind it and marketing execs are confident about the great work that increased budgets enable them to do for business.
This growth is likely to continue for a while yet, as businesses reap the rewards of their increased marketing activity’s impact on their bottom line.
Delving into the details, the growth of online spend is interesting, given that as more and more brands clutter the digital space with banner ads, their white noise delivers very little or no measurable ROI. What with growth in ad spend predicted to cool in 2015, and audiences becoming more sophisticated in how they interact with digital adverts, could it be at risk of being the hardest hit next year.
Martin Boddy, CEO, Jaywing
Relatively inexpensive media means marketers have many tools at their disposal but the low barriers to entry make for a crowded market. And simply measuring channel budget no longer paints a full picture.
Convergence is the principle issue marketers face. A large proportion still struggle to know how to tackle it. They worry about channel proliferation, big data, social media and the associated complexity. As marketers must constantly improve the skills at their disposal, agencies must constantly improve their offer.
Isolated specialisms provide limited help as marketers need a range of deep specialist knowledge on tap. And a rare breed to bring them together. Greater confidence affords the opportunity to explore more options so now is a great time for marketers to take on some of those bigger issues and create the foundations for marketing of the future.
Justin Taylor, MD, digital, MEC
It is fitting that in a week awash with digital events, from the inaugural Digital Upfronts to IAB Engage, we see sustained double figure growth in digital marketing spend.
As we unpack the figures we see that growth is coming from the continued evolution of video consumption, the intensification and persuasiveness of mobile as our primary access device, the expansion and sophistication of content distribution all underpinned with the ability to reach targeted and relevant audiences at a scale never seen before.
Simply put there has never been a more exciting time for media or marketing professionals to use the gambit of media opportunities available to build, reach, connect and engage with audiences.
Today’s media has moved beyond myopic channel planning into integrated and connected signal planning that puts the consumer need state at its heart.
I would challenge the forthcoming report for separating ‘internet’ and ‘main media advertising’. This already seems outdated and not connected with the reality of modern media delivery.