How Much Marketing Is Digital?

More than six out of 10 CMOs and senior marketing professionals surveyed in the US said that digital tactics (including mobile) accounted for more than one-quarter of their agency marketing, according to a July 2008 study by Zoomerang for Sapient.

Percent of Marketing Conducted by Agencies via Digital Channels* According to US Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) and Professionals, July 2008 (% of respondents)

Respondents also said digital marketing was growing in importance. Nearly one-half (45%) of those polled had either switched agencies or planned to switch during the next 12 months to gain access to more digital expertise. Almost eight out of 10 said that agencies' interactive and digital aptitude was important or very important.

Since the Sapient sample involved fewer than 100 respondents, the results are most useful in a directional sense, but the amount of digital marketing (generally over 25%) CMOs reported seems high. As a point of comparison, digital ad spending growth remains steep compared with other media, yet it still accounts for less than 10% of total ad spending in the US.

US Online Advertising Spending as a Percent of Total Media Advertising Spending, 2007-2013