Marketers know they have to spend significantly more money to acquire new customers than to retain existing ones. So they need cost-effective ways to educate and maintain contact with customers. At many companies, branded content like newsletters commands a healthy percentage of the marketing budget and delivers an solid return on investment.
A new study released by the Custom Content Council indicates that large marketers spent an average of $1.36 million on content development in the past year. About 29% of the total marketing/advertising/communication budget has been devoted to branded content and this percentage has been increasing. Over 2/3’s of businesses say branded content is more effective than simple direct mail. The primary goal of these expenditures is to educate customers (54%) and retain customers (23%).
Marketers use the following methods to distribute their content:
- Print 43%
- Electronic 35%
- Other 12%
Keith Sedlak, Chair of the Custom Content Council and Chief Marketing Officer with Meredith Integrated Marketing, notes that “there was a 20% increase in companies surveyed this year versus last year that plan to grow their branded content budgets.” Overall, 31% of surveyed marketers will increase content spending in 2011. While 61% of marketers say a moderate shift in their ad and marketing spending is underway, 7% say this shift has been aggressive. For the most part, marketers are moving funds from traditional forms of advertising to initiatives like branded content and social media.
[Source: Marketers Deem Branded Content Superior. Custompublishingcouncil.com. 29 Nov. 2010. Web. 4 Jan 2011]