ANA Survey Reveals Increase in Development, Execution and Effectiveness of Integrated Marketing Programs

ANA Survey Reveals Increase in Development, Execution and Effectiveness of Integrated Marketing Programs

Mobile marketing and social media touted as important tools for majority of marketers

NEW YORK (Jan. 23, 2012) — More than half of marketers surveyed are currently developing and executing integrated marketing communications (IMC) programs according to a new survey from the ANA (Association of National Advertisers). Integrated marketing is the integration of disciplines in the marketing mix creating one unified message to all stakeholders (consumers, employees, retailers, stockholders, etc.) regardless of the media or discipline used.

The ANA survey found that since 2006, the percent of marketers developing and executing integrated marketing programs for all brands/products/services has steadily grown: 

• 2011 - 51 percent
• 2008 - 33 percent
• 2006 - 19 percent

Additionally, marketers are more optimistic about the quality of their company's integrated marketing efforts, with 42 percent of respondents rating its effectiveness as excellent or very good. That is up from 25 percent of marketers surveyed in 2008.

The perceived increase in effectiveness of integrated marketing efforts may be attributed to the greater availability and use of newer media platforms as marketing tools, which allow for better targeting and enhanced metrics.

From 2008 to 2011 there was a significant increase in the percentage of marketers who rated mobile marketing and social media as being "important" or "very important" to their marketing programs.

* Source: ANA 2011

Nearly three out of four marketers surveyed said that they measure their IMC success by sales growth/volume (74 percent), while 61 percent utilized brand tracking studies for measuring IMC success. Brand tracking typically includes metrics such as awareness, usage, attitude, perception and purchase intent.

"The ANA has been addressing the topic of integrated marketing for over 60 years," said Bill Duggan, Group EVP of the ANA. "The tools available to marketers have changed in many ways with the explosion in media options, but the importance of integrated marketing is greater than ever as demonstrated by the survey results."

This survey was conducted online by the ANA during September and October of 2011. This is the fourth survey in eight years conducted by the ANA, seeking the opinions of marketers on their integrated marketing programs. Past surveys were conducted in 2003, 2006 and 2008. Respondents included members of the ANA panel who are periodically surveyed on a range of timely, industry-related topics. In total, 107 client-side marketers participated.

*Due to the recent nature of mobile marketing and social media, these options were not included in the 2003 or 2006 studies.

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About the ANA

The mission of the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) is to drive growth for marketing professionals, brands and businesses, the industry, and humanity. The ANA serves the marketing needs of 20,000 brands by leveraging the 12-point ANA Growth Agenda, which has been endorsed by the Global CMO Growth Council. The ANA’s membership consists of U.S. and international companies, including client-side marketers, nonprofits, fundraisers, and marketing solutions providers (data science and technology companies, ad agencies, publishers, media companies, suppliers, and vendors). The ANA creates Marketing Growth Champions by serving, educating, and advocating for more than 50,000 industry members that collectively invest more than $400 billion in marketing and advertising annually.

Press Contacts

Shoshana Hochdorf
CooperKatz & Co. for the ANA
shochdorf@cooperkatz.com
917.595.3054

Luna Newton
CooperKatz & Co. for the ANA
lnewton@cooperkatz.com
917.595.3061