November 2016
ICMF Barometer: The state of content marketing internationally
Farbpalette
65, 65, 65
141, 180, 30
90, 115, 0
145, 145, 145
70, 0, 130
134, 96, 211
255, 133, 0
172, 155, 228
174, 222, 60
255, 184, 61
179, 179, 179
180, 44, 30
97, 80, 64
158, 145, 136
Method
The ICMF Barometer surveyed nearly 600 communication executives (n = 592) in nine countries to explore the state of content marketing and its future at international level.
2
Barometer Coverage of different regions: § Central Europe § Eastern Europe § Scandinavia § USA
Farbpalette
65, 65, 65
141, 180, 30
90, 115, 0
145, 145, 145
70, 0, 130
134, 96, 211
255, 133, 0
172, 155, 228
174, 222, 60
255, 184, 61
179, 179, 179
180, 44, 30
97, 80, 64
158, 145, 136
3
Our definition of content marketing
Content marketing covers the whole spectrum of content-driven communication, including custom media (sometimes called corporate publishing).
Content marketing
• is a form of corporate, brand, product or staff communication driven by relevant editorial content
• harnesses all the available media channels, including print, video, mobile and online, individually and on a cross-media basis
• includes communication with different audiences, in particular with consumers, business customers, employees and investors
• can be used to pursue various goals along the customer journey, from boosting brand awareness, brand image and customer retention to acquiring new customers and triggering purchase decisions
• includes both continuous communication projects and time-limited communication campaigns
Farbpalette
65, 65, 65
141, 180, 30
90, 115, 0
145, 145, 145
70, 0, 130
134, 96, 211
255, 133, 0
172, 155, 228
174, 222, 60
255, 184, 61
179, 179, 179
180, 44, 30
97, 80, 64
158, 145, 136
SVN
NOR
POL
USA
CHE
AUT
DEU
DNK
HRV
26
21
20
22
20
20
22
26
28
20 28
Content Marketing: Share of Budget
4
Q: Around what percentage of your overall communications budget does content marketing account for? Countries in alphabetical order; averages, adjusted for extreme values
At international level, organizations allocate between 20 and 28 percent of their overall communications budget to content marketing.
Farbpalette
65, 65, 65
141, 180, 30
90, 115, 0
145, 145, 145
70, 0, 130
134, 96, 211
255, 133, 0
172, 155, 228
174, 222, 60
255, 184, 61
179, 179, 179
180, 44, 30
97, 80, 64
158, 145, 136
SVN NOR POL USA CHE AUT DEU DNK HRV
22 24
37
66 69
33 32
26
14 14
69
Anticipated Change in Content Marketing Budget by 2020
5
Q: How do you think your organization's content marketing budget will develop by 2020? Countries in alphabetical order
Organizations expect their CM budgets to increase by 14-69 percent by 2020. Growth expectations are highest in Croatia and Poland.
Farbpalette
65, 65, 65
141, 180, 30
90, 115, 0
145, 145, 145
70, 0, 130
134, 96, 211
255, 133, 0
172, 155, 228
174, 222, 60
255, 184, 61
179, 179, 179
180, 44, 30
97, 80, 64
158, 145, 136
SVN
NOR
POL
USA
CHE
AUT
DEU
DNK
HRV
73
71
82
82
96
81
89
63
100
63 100
Content Promotion as a Success Factor
6
Statement: “Content promotion – systematically raising awareness for content – is key to successful content marketing.” / top 2 boxes: (completely) agree; countries in alphabetical order
It is widely acknowledged that content promotion is a key to successful content marketing.
Farbpalette
65, 65, 65
141, 180, 30
90, 115, 0
145, 145, 145
70, 0, 130
134, 96, 211
255, 133, 0
172, 155, 228
174, 222, 60
255, 184, 61
179, 179, 179
180, 44, 30
97, 80, 64
158, 145, 136
94 69 71
74 83
59 91
48
Content Promotion as a Success Factor
At international level, executives generally share the view that higher investments in content promotion could boost content marketing’s impact.
7
We could clearly increase the impact of our content marketing by investing more in media or content promotion.
82
top 2 boxes: (completely) agree
Farbpalette
65, 65, 65
141, 180, 30
90, 115, 0
145, 145, 145
70, 0, 130
134, 96, 211
255, 133, 0
172, 155, 228
174, 222, 60
255, 184, 61
179, 179, 179
180, 44, 30
97, 80, 64
158, 145, 136
99 88 95
94 96
65 61
76
Relevance of Content Marketing
There is widespread unanimity among executives that content marketing will continue to grow in importance.
8
Content marketing will become more important in our communications mix in the future.
99
top 2 boxes: (completely) agree
Farbpalette
65, 65, 65
141, 180, 30
90, 115, 0
145, 145, 145
70, 0, 130
134, 96, 211
255, 133, 0
172, 155, 228
174, 222, 60
255, 184, 61
179, 179, 179
180, 44, 30
97, 80, 64
158, 145, 136
82 85 91
91 96
78 83
90
Content Marketing and Classic Advertising
There is broad international consensus among executives that content marketing and classic advertising will be the “power couple” of marketing communications.
9
In the future, content marketing and classic advertising will be more closely coordinated and integrated.
94
top 2 boxes: (completely) agree
Farbpalette
65, 65, 65
141, 180, 30
90, 115, 0
145, 145, 145
70, 0, 130
134, 96, 211
255, 133, 0
172, 155, 228
174, 222, 60
255, 184, 61
179, 179, 179
180, 44, 30
97, 80, 64
158, 145, 136
77 88 81
83 88
65 82
87
Quality as a Success Factor
There is international consensus among executives that the guiding principle of the future is quality over quantity.
10
In the future, the smartest organizations will create less but better content.
82
top 2 boxes: (completely) agree
Farbpalette
65, 65, 65
141, 180, 30
90, 115, 0
145, 145, 145
70, 0, 130
134, 96, 211
255, 133, 0
172, 155, 228
174, 222, 60
255, 184, 61
179, 179, 179
180, 44, 30
97, 80, 64
158, 145, 136
65 56 63
80 75
57 73
90
Content Marketing Organization
The majority of the executives is convinced that we will see more centralization of content marketing activities.
11
Organizations will increasingly centralize their content marketing (e.g. central content studios, brand newsrooms and content centers).
82
top 2 boxes: (completely) agree
Farbpalette
65, 65, 65
141, 180, 30
90, 115, 0
145, 145, 145
70, 0, 130
134, 96, 211
255, 133, 0
172, 155, 228
174, 222, 60
255, 184, 61
179, 179, 179
180, 44, 30
97, 80, 64
158, 145, 136 POL
HRV
NOR
SVN
CHE
DEU
AUT
USA
DNK
40
45
45
46
43
38
41
59
43
Strategy Gap
12
Statement: “Our organization has a defined content marketing strategy.” / top 2 boxes: (completely) agree; countries in alphabetical order
Less than half of the companies have a defined content marketing strategy. The exception is the USA, where approximately six out of ten organizations have one.