Interactive Marketing Displaces Traditional Marketing

The Forrester Research report “US Interactive Marketing Forecast 2011 – 2016” states: marketing dollars are shifting away from traditional forms of advertising (TV, radio and print) to various forms of online and interactive venues. Interactive is now cannibalizing traditional media.

Search Marketing leads overall Interactive Spend as more and more companies embrace Search Marketing tools such as PPC (pay per click) Advertising, and SEO (search engine optimization).

Forrester points out that 70% of marketers are already utilizing social media (Facebook) in various forms. Most of these companies have only “dipped” their toe into social media marketing. The next move is to monitor user activity, listen to what consumers are saying, increase engagement, and increase brand loyalty.

Mobile Marketing is gaining considerable momentum. 45% of the adult population has a smartphone or PDA with full browser capability. Apple iPhones and Google Android devices are leading the way as consumers become more comfortable using their PDA’s for practically everything – map directions, couponing, product reviews, and online purchasing.

This is indeed a major challenge for businesses because the marketing strategies they’ve executed on for the last 30 years may be totally redundant within 2 years (if they aren’t already).

The World Cup of Soccer is the largest single sporting event in the world and the opening ceremonies were sponsored by Adidas. What was particularly interesting was that the advertisement displayed on the TV screen as follows:

This was the first time that a major sponsor had used its social media page as the focal point or  marquee. It was a defining point in the advertising world.

This paradigm shift will no doubt create new business opportunities – and a  few casualties along the way.