Below-the-line spending is expected to grow 7.8% annually from 2003 to 2007, outpacing above-the-line advertising, projected to grow by an average 5.5% each year.
The findings support a growing shift in marketing expenditures from brand building to direct-response oriented promotion channels, according to a report released last week by the Winterberry Group, a New York consulting firm.
The study also found the ATL spending was expected to grow 5.6% last year, a 1.7% lift behind overall marketing spending. By 2007, that difference will be more pronounced, with ATL spending growing 4.6% compared with 7.3% overall.
In contrast, nearly all BTL channels are projected to grow in excess of 6.9% annual growth forecast for the whole industry between 2003 and 2007. Interactive marketing— search, e-mail and online ads— be leading the pack.
According to PROMO’s 2005 Industry Trends Report, promotional marketing spending was on the rise for the third consecutive year, coming in a 8.9% in 2004. (PROMO’s 2006 Industry Trends Report will appear in the upcoming April issue of PROMO Magazine).
Winterberry Group identified the follow seven trends directly affecting the shift in marketing budgets:
In the report, above-the-line marketing channels were defined to include TV, radio, print, outdoor and yellow pages. Below-the-line was defined as database marketing, direct mail, interactive marketing, insert media and promotion marketing.
The report was commissioned by V12 Group, a provider of below-the-line marketing services.
