A study conducted by IAB, along with, among others, Unilever and Nestlé, examined the effect of digital marketing on online and offline sales. The result is incredibly positive for marketers but not expected.
It has been said that it is difficult to measure the ROI you get in digital marketing. Several studies show that a digital ad does not necessarily lead to increased sales in digital channels. Therefore, IAB now wanted to find out how it was, and it took nine assorted brands to help, including Unilever and Nestlé.
IAB examined companies’ digital marketing on desktop and mobile and in channels like The Guardian and eBay. The study then compared the buying behaviors of those who saw advertising with those who did not see advertising.
Return on Marketing
The result showed that the brand received an average sale of $1.94 for every dollar spent. Each dollar generated 3.40 times the money in sales for the brand that performed best. However, it is not clear which brand it was.
Interestingly, digital marketing primarily led to increased sales in physical stores. It confirms what was previously assumed, that digital marketing influences buying behaviors offline, which has been challenging to prove.
Given that more people are starting to use ad blockers and that Chrome will soon automatically begin blocking ads that are considered disruptive, it is time for marketers to give it some thought. Suppose digital marketing can generate this kind of result. In that case, it is worth spending more time and energy (and money) on developing advertising that does not drive more users to install an ad blocker. It may be time to make sure that advertising is appreciated rather than get it perceived. There is money to be made from more people seeing and liking advertising.
More accessible, Cheaper, and Better ROI with Digital Marketing
Historically, controlling who is exposed to which advertising has been challenging, making it challenging to target the ads to the right target group. With the help of digital marketing, you can instead tell your product/service to precisely the right target group. Today, it is possible to tailor their target groups to most digital advertising tools, which means the conversion rate will be higher.
Another great advantage of marketing yourself via digital channels is that you can easily measure the results of your efforts. Here, KPIs are used to see whether the investments are successful. However, the type of measurement value used can vary depending on the industry you work in and what your goals are. If, for example, you want to work with brand building and get more people to recognize your company – then you can use the number of exposures to evaluate the effort.
The Challenge of Digital Marketing
According to the report, it turns out that most people believe that advertising disturbs them in everyday life, digital or not. Most people find advertising annoying when people cannot avoid it, incites consumption and unnecessary purchases, and persecutes the recipient (e.g., after searching for a product on the Internet).
A study also indicates that digital channels generate more cognitive stress. The result is that the consumer becomes more fragmented and risks paying attention to fewer relevant messages and building a less emotional commitment to the brand.
On the other hand, digital advertising that comes after physical advertising reinforces the effect on brand communication.
Digital Marketing Today
Today, many companies choose to invest only in digital marketing as digital development is becoming more extensive, and it is easier to measure ROI in digital than in traditional marketing. However, there may be a danger in dropping the “traditional marketing” channel altogether. Statistics often show that traditional and digital marketing combinations have the best effect.
Summary
Ultimately, it is always about which channel choice you make and who the recipient is. However, the most important thing is the message you send out and the feeling it conveys – whether digital, traditional, or a combination of both.
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