Research Center >> August 2008

What B2B Marketers Can Learn From the Olympics
Old and new media working together. Plus, our latest reader survey results.

With all due respect to the Beijing Organizing Committee and the accomplishments of our swimmers, gymnasts, sprinters, basketball and beach volleyball stars, the Games of the XXIX Olympiad may be best remembered for marking the tipping point at which old media actually embraced new media and used it to its competitive advantage.

READER NOTE: Had enough of the Olympics? Skip to our reader survey results.

With at least a 12-hour time difference separating live action from the U.S. prime time broadcast coverage, nearly every device that can possibly receive a signal from Beijing is doing so from these games — podcasts, RSS feeds, e-mail alerts, iPhones and videos. The result, according to NBC, is that there will be more footage available from Beijing than from all other Olympics combined. Viewers have never been more in control of how and when they follow their
favorite sports.

The result? Sports blogs and Web sites are posting round-the-clock real-time results of the action. More than 30 million unique visitors have visited the NBC Olympics Web site and 6.3 million shared videos from the coverage have been streamed on the site — the most downloads ever. A ratings nightmare in the making right? Not exactly.

The Beijing Games have drawn an average audience of 30 million prime time viewers and millions more on its cable channels, making it one of the highest rated Olympics in decades. That’s right, alternative and emerging media enhanced the viewing experience rather than detracted from it. And there’s no reason why the Web and other emerging media platforms can’t have the same synergistic effect in your corner of the B2B marketing world.

As NBC did, it’s time to acknowledge that your prospects will tell you how, when and where they’d like to hear from you — not the other way around. As we’ll see below, smart marketers from both the consumer and B2B sides of the profession have learned how to survive and thrive in today’s platform-agnostic media world.

Read on to see what your peers think.

CPA Marketing Insider Reader Survey Results

Results of our semi-annual reader poll are in and it’s clear the budget-setting process has become a year-long exercise, rather than an annual event, for more and more regular readers of CPA Marketing Insider.

While the October-to-December calendar quarter remains the most common time for business marketers to set their budgets for the following year, it’s not the only time they’re doing so. In fact, for the first time since we started our semi-annual reader survey three years ago, more than half (54%) of our readers are NOT setting their budgets in Q4, as budget setting has become more of an ongoing, opportunistic process and less of a time-honored annual chore.

About one-third of our readers (33%) are setting the budgets in the spring and summer calendar quarters, compared with 26 percent as recently as six months ago and less than 20 percent at this time a year ago.

When Do Marketers to the CPA Profession Set Their Budgets?

“The days of the Five-Year Plan are over,” quipped Rick Telberg, President of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.-based Bay Street Group Research. “B2B marketing has become a just-in-time business. Marketers are becoming more and more opportunistic and increasingly focused on measuring their results before committing to the next media buy.”

Budgets Up, Despite Economy

The good news is that when CPA Marketing Insider readers finally do get around to setting their budgets, two-thirds (64%) of you expect to have more dollars to work with in 2009 than you did this year, including a whopping 32 percent who expect double-digit increases. Despite the gloomy economic outlook, another one in six of you will have up to 10 percent more to work with, 29 percent will be holding steady and only eight percent will be facing a budget cut.

How’s Your Budget Shaping Up for 2009?

What Is Your #1 Marketing Objective for Next Year?

We also queried our readers about their marketing objectives for next year. Customer Acquisition (34%), which has picked up six percentage points since January, topped the list as readers’ No. 1 marketing priority for 2009, followed by Lead Generation (cited by 27%). Brand Awareness (10%) dropped three percentage points since January, falling into a distant third-place tie with New Market Growth. Thought Leadership, Product Penetration and Customer Retention rounded out the list.

“With priorities on customer acquisition and lead generation, the brand experience must be the overarching focus and it must become as relevant as possible for each prospect,” said Steve Rappaport, Knowledge Management Director for the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) in New York and author of the popular Online Advertising Playbook. “Companies should be segmenting their prospects and then tailoring their offerings, benefits, communications and services to each individual to increase relevance.”

The Web Continues to Attract Dollars

With the continued shift to measurable, accountable media, it’s no surprise that four in five (77%) CPA Marketing Insider readers report higher Internet spending plans next year, with 35 percent expecting double-digit increases (see table below). This is consistent with a recent PRWeek.com survey of senior marketing executives, in which 75 percent of respondents expect spending on online initiatives to increase in the next year.

“The trend towards more online marketing means more online competition, however,” cautions ARF’s Rappaport. “Companies will need to elevate their online marketing to compete effectively.”

Predictions for Next Year

“Advertisers are clearly looking for measurable results,” said Telberg. “They’re focused on generating leads and closing sales. In this economy, it’s more important than ever to show effectiveness. You’ve got to show how advertising is working. Digital and other emerging platforms are ideally positioned to do this.”

“Savvy marketers will continue to take care of — but also think beyond — the battle for the inbox, by leveraging standard relationship builders like white-paper downloads, and Web site design,” said Rappaport.

Added Telberg: “Smart digital strategists are moving to the next level of digital media, such as online video. It’s more important to measure audience engagement and not just clicks. It’s not just whether or not your marketing message is seen, but how much time did the reader/viewer spend with it. Did it create buzz, or a call to action?"

So aim high. Put some chalk on your hands. Impress the judges at your organization with your focus and versatility. And don’t forget to stick to that landing in 2009!