Online advertising spending in Ireland is bucking the trend and winning a greater share of’ advertising budgets, according to a survey published in the State of the Net quarterly bulletin.
Over 90% of the 171 marketing professionals surveyed are conducting online campaigns, with almost half committing more than 10% of their total advertising budgets to a variety of online formats.
The survey, conducted among members of the Marketing Institute of Ireland, found that online is taking budget away from direct mail, press advertising, magazine advertising and PR campaigns.
While use of social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube is increasing, more traditional online formats continue to be strong performers. Almost two thirds, or 65% of the marketers, use email marketing campaigns to get their message out and to drive action or uptake. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the second most popular with 48% usage level, followed by social networking and blogs at 44%.
“Online is moving from the periphery to centre stage,” comments Aileen O’Toole, Managing Director of online consultancy AMAS, which publishes State of the Net. “Advertising spend has been in freefall in 2009 but online advertising is relatively buoyant, because marketers realise they are getting good, tangible returns and also that they can get more for less.”
“Over the coming years, online in Ireland will continue to win out against traditional media, following the pattern evident in other larger markets. In the UK, the latest figures from the Internet Advertising Bureau show online as the top advertising category, overtaking TV for the first time.”
Other trends plotted in the current issue of State of the Net, which is published in association with the Irish Internet Association, include:
- eCommerce – Ireland fares poorly in a pan-European survey about the range of goods that can be bought online
- Top apps – Irish consumers are splashing out on apps in the Apple iStore, with the top 10 including a tool to uncover Eircom wifi passwords and a couple of driving navigational aids
- Comparative shopping – the Internet is being used increasingly by consumers to compare prices, with airline prices and insurance being the top category for online shopping comparisons
Graphs from State of the Net are available for reuse – see the AMAS blog at www.amas.ie/blog
