For Interactive Marketing Professionals

US Interactive Marketing Forecast By Industry, 2009 To 2014

by Shar VanBoskirk, November 11, 2009

Although interactive marketing is poised to grow at a 16% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) overall, not all industries will match this pace. Retail and financial services will own the largest share of all interactive marketing, while brand advertisers . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

How Europeans Search

by Shar VanBoskirk, Rebecca Jennings, October 30, 2009

Many European online consumers start at search engines when doing product research, especially in the UK and Germany, and consumers across Europe exhibit a high level of trust in natural search engine results. However, European consumers are wary of paid . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Recession Realities Improve Interactive Marketing

by Shar VanBoskirk, October 23, 2009

The recession has forced interactive marketers to think more conservatively about budget, to trim staff, and to rebudget more frequently than they would in better economic conditions. We expect tighter conditions to create habits and initiate conditions . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Accessible Innovation

How Interactive Marketers Can Reduce The Risk Of Innovating In A Recession

by Shar VanBoskirk, September 1, 2009

A down economy provides the perfect environment for interactive marketers to innovate; emerging media provides cost-effective ways to keep firms ahead of competition and customer needs. Forrester's Accessible Innovation framework helps firms overcome . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

The Best And Worst Of Paid Search In 2009

Forrester Applies Its Search Marketing Review To 300 Keyword Ads

by Shar VanBoskirk, July 23, 2009

Forrester applied an adjusted version of its Search Marketing Review methodology to 300 paid search ads from the retail, travel, consumer packaged goods (CPG), media and entertainment, financial services, and business services industries. Despite some . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Consumer Advertising Attitudes Rebound

A Customer-Guided Approach Will Further Ad Relevance

by Shar VanBoskirk, July 13, 2009

Consumer attitudes toward advertising improved in 2008. US adults find ads more conversational, helpful during the purchase process, and less disruptive. This result is due to marketer improvements in interactive campaign execution and optimization. But . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

US Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2009 To 2014

Spend Will Reach Nearly $55 Billion As Interactive Cannibalizes Traditional Media

by Shar VanBoskirk, July 6, 2009

Interactive marketing will near $55 billion and represent 21% of all marketing spend in 2014 as marketers shift dollars away from traditional media and toward search marketing, display advertising, email marketing, social media, and mobile marketing. . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Interactive Marketing Channels To Watch In 2009

The Recession Inhibits Firms From Trialing Emerging Channels

by Shar VanBoskirk, June 4, 2009

Because of the recession, this year marketers decline their use of brand-oriented display media and are particularly shy to adopt emerging channels like online video and mobile marketing. Instead, they cling to direct response specialists email and search . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Bing: The Next Big Search Thing

Microsoft Introduces A User-Centric Approach To Search

by Shar VanBoskirk, June 1, 2009

Microsoft's new "decision engine," Bing, changes the search game, not by catapulting Microsoft ahead of Yahoo! and Google but by introducing a new user-centric way of finding and displaying relevant search results. Forrester expects Bing's concierge approach . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

The Search Marketing Vendor Landscape

A Directory Of Search Marketing Technology And Services Providers

by Shar VanBoskirk, March 25, 2009

Search marketing vendors provide the technology and services needed to manage increasingly complex paid search media buys and search engine optimization efforts. In January 2009, we published a detailed evaluation of seven US search marketing agencies . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Search Loyalty Is Still Hard To Find

Advertising Options Exist Beyond Just Google

by Shar VanBoskirk, February 3, 2009

Google's lead in the share of online searchers continues to grow, and it has the most loyal searchers. But users find that other search engines are actually more effective for certain things — like looking up stock quotes or finding news stories. Advertising . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: US Search Marketing Agencies, Q1 2009

iProspect, iCrossing, And 360i Emerge As Leaders

by Shar VanBoskirk, January 21, 2009

Forrester's evaluation of search marketing agencies against 72 criteria finds this market more mature than during our 2006 Wave. iProspect leads the study again, this time because of its strategy and corporate leadership. iCrossing takes top honors for . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

The Interactive Marketing Maturity Model

Forrester's Framework Benchmarks Interactive Capabilities And Provides A Road Map For Progress

by Shar VanBoskirk, November 19, 2008

Marketers are far from mastering the performance and integration of interactive channels. To mature, they should use Forrester's interactive marketing maturity model to classify their firms into one of four levels: Skeptics, Experimenters, Practitioners, . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Who Still Loves Ads?

Use Ad Affirmers To Drive Sales And Brand Awareness

by Shar VanBoskirk, November 7, 2008

Amid the increasing consumer disdain for advertising, there is one glimmer of light: 6% of US adults — a group Forrester calls Ad Affirmers — like advertising and are valuable marketer targets. Not only do these consumers trust ads, but they also give . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Know Your Online Video Audience

by Shar VanBoskirk, November 4, 2008

It's time to advertise in online video. Today's online video viewers are active broadband consumers who make valuable advertising targets. But not all online video viewers are created equal: Varied types of content have distinctly different audiences. . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

US Financial Services Interactive Spend Outpaces Other Industries

by Shar VanBoskirk, October 7, 2008

US financial services interactive marketing spend will nearly double by 2012 as financial services firms gravitate toward more accountable channels that will improve their overall Web presence. To realize successful interactive growth at their own firms, . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Case Study: Epicor Software Uses Personas To Boost B2B Search Marketing Results

by Shar VanBoskirk, September 29, 2008

During the past two years, Epicor Software built a paid search marketing program that today provides a good model for B2B marketers initiating search marketing or those looking to better use search to drive leads. By targeting specific audiences with . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Interactive Marketing Channels To Watch, 2008

Better Goals Will Unlock New Channel Adoption

by Shar VanBoskirk, August 29, 2008

Consistent with past studies, email, search, and display media are still the most heavily penetrated interactive channels; this year, they reach near ubiquitous adoption. Online video and most social media also continue strong growth. Widgets and mobile . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Retail Interactive Marketing Spend Grows Steadily

by Shar VanBoskirk, August 1, 2008

Retail marketers are responsible for more than one-third of all interactive marketing spend: an expected $8.2 billion by year end 2008. As veterans in the interactive space, retailers will grow IM investments at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of . . .

For Consumer Market Research Professionals

Benchmark 2008: Gen Y Comes Of Age

North American Consumer Technographics

by Shar VanBoskirk, July 25, 2008

As early adopters of emerging media, Gen Yers have foretold interactive marketers' next priorities over the past few years. But they are more than just bellwethers of change. As consumers ages 18 to 28 begin working and increasing their expendable incomes, . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

High-Tech And Manufacturing Marketers Ramp Up Interactive Marketing Spend

by Shar VanBoskirk, July 7, 2008

Forrester projects that as high-tech and manufacturing marketers shift spending online, their interactive marketing spend will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37% to 1.6 billion by 2012. Although still only a fraction of the total interactive . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Topic Overview: Interactive Marketing

by Shar VanBoskirk, June 20, 2008

Interactive marketing tactics are crucial for marketers who seek new ways to create relevant and engaging customer communications. Forrester's interactive marketing research studies current and emerging interactive strategies and channels to help marketers . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Microsoft/Yahoo!: No Deal

Microsoft's Withdrawal Of Premium Offer Hurts Yahoo! The Most

by Shar VanBoskirk, Charlene Li, May 5, 2008

Microsoft took its offer to buy Yahoo! off the table on Saturday after Yahoo! asked for $3 more per share. Forrester believes that the outcome of this three-month-long online media soap opera puts huge pressure on Yahoo! to quickly prove itself viable . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Consumer Products IM Spend: Big, But Not Explosive

by Shar VanBoskirk, May 2, 2008

Some of the largest advertisers in the world — consumer products firms — will at last add significant share to the interactive marketing pie: $4.5 billion by 2012. Although still less investment than that of direct marketers in the retail or travel industries, . . .

For Interactive Marketing Professionals

Getting More Out Of Online Ads

What Beyond Ad Format Will Improve Display Media Performance

by Shar VanBoskirk, April 30, 2008

Many marketers believe that ad format determines campaign performance. While ad format does influence campaign results, it is not the only factor that does so. Forrester advises that marketers use four interrelated elements — creative, placement, targeting, . . .