Digital spend to surpass print in 2010?

August 3, 2010

According to a new advertising study from Outsell, U.S. advertisers are going to make history in 2010. In what Outsell calls “an industry milestone crossover event,” companies are expected to spend more this year on digital and online advertising than on print for the first time ever.

The study forecasts that advertisers will spend $119 billion on online and digital strategies, as opposed to $115 billion on traditional print campaigns. In a not-so-surprising trend, spending on newspaper advertising is expected to drop 8.2% to $27 billion, according to the survey as reported online (“New Advertising Study: Marketers to spend more on digital than print this year”).

“Advertisers are directing dollars toward the channels which generate the most qualified leads and most effective branding. As they emerge from the recession, they need more accountability, and they’re spreading their spending over a widening set of options,” said Chuck Richard, vice president and lead analyst at Outsell.

Outsell provides research and advisory services to the publishing and information industries. The company’s “Annual Advertising and Marketing Study 2010” is gathered from a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. advertisers in December 2009.

Intouch Solutions has long been an advocate of a “start digital” approach to marketing campaigns. An online presence is not only capable of providing a greater quantity of information, it is also more interactive, up-to-date and can provide access to a wide variety of resources. In the health care space, it is often the first place consumers seek information about conditions and treatments, and a place they keep coming back to over time.

However, Intouch also believes in an integrated marketing approach that can include multiple channels. Traditional print campaigns can be effectively utilized to help push consumers online. If you're interested in rethinking your integrated marketing strategy, visit us at: www.intouchsol.com/startdigital.