Efficient Frontier Survey Reveals 98% Of UK Marketers Insist Online Marketing Vital During Downturn
ROI and trackability key considerations to successful search engine marketing campaigns through tough year ahead
London - November 24, 2008 - 98% of UK marketers believe online marketing is crucial to business success through the pending recession. These findings are the results of a European-wide survey conducted by search engine marketing (SEM) specialist, Efficient Frontier. Over 300 marketers were questioned across France, Germany and the UK. Detailed feedback across these countries indicates that sophisticated SEM technology is the one tool considered vital by which to maximise ROI and monitor click through rates when every penny of the budget has to be accountable. 73% of marketers surveyed in UK and Germany expect to see the headcount of digital marketing teams increase through 2009 in order to manage the expanding online focus of their campaigns.
This predicted upsurge in SEM activity in UK and Germany is mirrored in the responses from those surveyed in all three countries, with a similar trend subsequently predicted to develop across Europe. 78.5% of those surveyed in the UK rated SEM as a 'top 3' priority in marketing campaigns. While SEM has proved more popular in the UK than the rest of Europe, the survey results also show that popularity of online marketing across France and Germany is now on the up. 80% of those surveyed in France believed that digital marketing will grow faster in 2009 than it did in 2008. This is despite the economic gloom and also that email marketing is historically the most popular online marketing tool amongst French businesses. 87% of those surveyed in UK and Germany predicted that digital marketing will grow at the same rate in 2009 as it did in 2008, concluding that digital marketing is becoming the most vital tool as industry moves ever more online.
The increasing popularity of digital marketing is reflected in graduate recruitment into the industry. The survey shows that a third of European digital marketers enter at graduate level straight from education – 29.9% in UK, 30.22% in France and 30.86% in Germany. Far greater numbers of professionals are entering the industry than exiting, fuelling this dynamic sector which is becoming so central to marketing strategies across the corporate world. In line with this finding, 73% of UK and German marketers believe their organisations will increase headcount for digital marketing activities during 2009 in order to accommodate expanding online focus.
David White, General Manager, Efficient Frontier Europe comments, "We are continuing to see enormous growth from our UK, French and German offices. It is extremely pleasing to see these survey results reflecting a positive story during this current economic environment."
About Efficient Frontier
Efficient Frontier is the market and technology leader in providing Search Engine Marketing (SEM) solutions for leading global advertisers and agencies. Founded in 2002, Efficient Frontier pioneered the application of modern portfolio theory to SEM and today combines its core algorithms and bidding technology with comprehensive strategic and tactical services to manage more than $750MM in global search spend. The largest and most sophisticated advertisers and agencies partner with Efficient Frontier to achieve and sustain optimal return on investment and ongoing campaign growth and efficiencies in highly competitive and volatile search marketplaces. The company has 200 employees and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA with offices in New York, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Hong Kong and India, and licensing partnerships in Japan and Australia. Efficient Frontier is a privately held company with funding from Redpoint Ventures and Cambrian Ventures. For more information, please visit http://www.efrontier.com and subscribe to the Efficient Frontier blog at blog.efrontier.com and follow on Twitter at http://twitter.com/efrontier.
