My last post commented on a study that found marketers today have less confidence in television as an advertising medium. The findings are enough to make followers of the advertising industry take notice, but in case some people have a “show me” mentality and need more evidence of the decline in traditional ad mediums, here it is.
An article posted on the Advertising Age magazine web site discusses how megamarketers Kimberly-Clark and Unilever are shifting marketing spending away from traditional mediums like television and magazines in favor of digital media and experiential marketing tactics. Kimberly-Clark’s story is particularly telling: the company’s percentage of marketing spending on television in 2006 was 46%, down from 60% in 2004. At the same time, spending on nontraditional media jumped to 34% from just 10% in 2004.
The new approach to marketing investments at Kimberly-Clark are reflective of changes occurring at companies of all sizes in this country. In the face of an uncertain economy and wavering consumer confidence, it is more important for marketing spending lead to a measurable ROI. We cannot assume our marketing efforts are helping our business. We need to be engaging customers through platforms that lead to stronger brand relationships and encourage our target market to spend their carefully managed dollars with us. Link
