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Year:
August 2008
Type of Promotional Material/Activity Tested:
Integration of search marketing efforts with offline marketing channels.
Sample Population:
Online survey of 289 search engine marketers (screened for familiarity/ involvement with marketing their company's product or those of clients)
Study Objectives:
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To uncover the extent to which search marketing efforts are integrated with a variety of offline marketing channels
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To reveal the specific search marketing and integration techniques in use
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To identify obstacles to the integration process.
Top Line Results:
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More than half (55%) of search engine marketers report coordinating or integrating their efforts with at least one offline marketing channel. Print media is the channel most frequently used:
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Direct mail
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34%
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Newspaper/Magazine ad
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29%
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TV ad
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12%
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Radio ad
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12%
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Billboard/Sports venue advertising
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7%
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Outbound telemarketing
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7%
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Company store/physical location
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5%
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Sign on company truck, car, van
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2%
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Sign on taxi, train, bus
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1%
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| Other |
6%
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Building on their previous study, “Offline Influence on Online Search Behavior Study” (Aug. 2007), which found that 67% of online users are driven to perform a search as a result of an offline marketing message, and 39% of those off-line influenced searchers ultimately make a purchase from that company, the 2008 iProspect study notes that “despite the demonstration of the power of integrating search and offline channels”, nearly half (45%) of search engine marketers do not integrate their search marketing efforts with offline channels.
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Reasons given for lack of integration:
| Don't advertise in offline channels |
24% |
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Lack of budget
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19%
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Lack of human resources
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15%
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Didn't think/consider the option
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13%
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Lack of senior management buy-in/initiative
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11%
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Separate people manage offline channels/SEM
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11%
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Don't see benefit of coordination/integration
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9%
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- Integration techniques most frequently employed by search marketers:
| Included company web address prominently |
84% |
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Included company name prominently
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66%
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Used same colors offline that were used online
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41%
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Included company slogan/tagline prominently
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40%
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Included product/service name prominently
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40%
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Used same image/video offline as used online
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34%
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Offline offer that could be acted on online/offline
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30%
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Used same keywords offline that were used online
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26%
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Offline offer that could only be acted upon online
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23%
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Take Away:
The reported 45% of search engine marketers not integrating online with offline marketing are missing the opportunity to take advantage of the offline behaviors of search engine users -- their use of direct mail, magazines, newspapers, TV, radio, etc. -- all channels that drive users to go online, search, and to make a purchase.
Complexity rating: 1
(complex statistical analysis scale: 1=none, 2=moderate, 3=difficult)
Link to full-text of iProspect Search Engine Marketing Integration Study.
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