Spending on digital advertising and marketing is forecast to reach $119.6 billion in 2010, overtaking the $111.5 billion projected for print advertising during the same period, according to a study from Outsell.
Overall, US spending on advertising and marketing will reach $368 billion in 2010, up 1.2% from a year earlier, Outsell forecasts.
B2B Marketing Findings
B2B marketers spend over one-half of their digital budgets on their websites, according to Outsell. That commitment is expected to increase 7.5% this year. Search engine marketing, which accounts for the second- largest share of the B2B marketing spend (15%) is expected to increase 17%.
Investments in social networking and webinar-related spending are also expected to increase, 43% and 26%, respectively.
However, sharp declines are projected in the mobile space: B2B spending on mobile advertising is forecast to fall 38% this year, to $202 million, from $325 million a year earlier.
Effectiveness of B2B Marketing
Among marketing tactics and channels, advertisers' own websites generate the highest ROI, followed by conferences, exhibitions and tradeshows, direct mail, search engine keywords, and electronic marketing/newsletters, according to B2B advertisers.
In addition, B2B advertisers say cross-media marketing is most effective: 78% combine three or more major marketing methods to maximize effectiveness.
Facebook is the social networking site most preferred by B2B marketers: 51% say Facebook is extremely or somewhat effective. LinkedIn is the second-most preferred site (45% of B2B marketers), followed by Twitter (35%) and MySpace (25%).
About the data: Findings are from Outsell's Marketing and Ad Spending Study 2010: Total US and B2B Advertising, which surveyed more than 1,000 US advertisers in December 2009.
