May 31, 2011
Direct Marketing IS Digital. And It’s Growing.
Industry statistics were released in April from the Ad Age Agency Report, which tracked the performance of more than 900 U.S. agencies.
According to the report, of the $30.4 billion spent on advertising in the U.S. last year, $4.75 billion went to direct marketing or customer relationship agencies (up 15.6% from the previous year), while digital specialty agencies’ share was $5.05 billion (up 16.6%).
What’s less clear, however, is the exact definition of “a digital agency.” It seems to me, for example, that direct marketers have long been leaders in using a variety of so-called “digital” options, including email marketing, micro websites, personalized landing pages, electronic newsletters, QR codes, mobile websites, auto triggers, real time testing and measurement of landing pages, etc.
So where’s the difference? With the growth of interactive, multi-channel marketing that incorporates both print and electronic options, this breakdown strikes me as odd … and I’m not the only one. Marketing Magazine points out that the “distinctions blur between digital agencies … and direct/CRM powerhouses,” noting that even “PR has moved aggressively into social media, snagging more digital dollars.”
Perhaps the bigger story that Ad Age doesn’t want to write about is the relative shrinkage of four categories – advertising, media, promotion and PR– against the combined growth of direct/CRM/digital.
So, while the ad industry dukes out who’s on top, the bottom line for marketers may be less about any agency-conscious definitions of self than the growing effectiveness of a solid test-and-measure campaign that stretches to every channel you can afford.
Nancy Scott is the president and owner of Liberty Communications. She is also the editor of Marketing Advents, the DM of Washington, D.C.’s monthly magazine. To contact Nancy, go to www.nancyscott.com or visit her blog at http://marketingbrillo.blogspot.com
