What Top Brands Spend On Marketing
Marketing, and in particular, digital marketing, has evolved beyond all recognition over recent times. The largest global companies spend billions on strategic marketing placement, and the success—or lack of—can provide important lessons for smaller businesses when it comes to deciding where to spend their promotional dollars.
Marketing strategies now encompass a wide variety of channels and media options for a brand to take advantage of. Print advertising is considered, by many, to be obsolete, and digital marketing is all about a company delivering its message to a carefully targeted audience. Brands with the richest budgets are forever honing such techniques, and plow billions of dollars to ensure these crucial connections with potential customers.
According to the latest figures from Ad Age Datacenter, the current biggest global spender of all is Samsung, with an eye-watering $11.2 billion dollars spent last year on communicating their products to the world. $2.41 billion of this was dedicated to U.S. campaigns and utilized a variety of media platforms. These included highly successful YouTube campaigns, as well as other models such as the internet, TV, in-store, and print.
The top spender within the United States was Comcast Corp. who spent $5.75 billion pitching the variety of brands that come under their wide-reaching banner. These include Universal’s Parks, Universal Pictures, and large media companies such as USA Network, Telemundo, and NBC.
Proctor & Gamble had the second deepest pockets, both in the U.S., with a spend of $4.49 billion, and worldwide ($7.1 billion). The owner of many household names that include Febreze, Gillette, Pampers, and Charmin, concentrates on digital, print, and broadcast advertising. And, very interestingly, they actually decreased their digital marketing spend by $200 million on the previous year, instead directing even more funds to eCommerce, radio, and television.
Other companies that hit the multi-billion dollar bracket include telecommunications giant, AT&T, online shopping behemoth, Amazon, automobile firm, General Motors, the communications company, Verizon, global motor enterprise, Ford, mass media & telecommunications organization, Charter Communications, and the umbrella business of the whole suite of Google, Alphabet, Inc.
What We Can Learn From Big Marketers
Whilst such resources are something most companies cannot compete with, their strategies and use of online promotion can provide important lessons in creating an effective publicity strategy at any level. The widely held belief that a company needs to dedicate 10 percent of their revenue to such a budget is now as much of a moving target as selecting the right message and media for your brand. Indeed, a recent study by Gartner shows that for the average company this figure has risen to around 12 percent, and for larger concerns, 13 percent. It seems only the smallest of businesses continue to hold fast to the 10 percent rule.
However, it is not only the size of an enterprise that determines the level of spending, Industry also plays a large part. Those in education direct over 18 percent of revenue to marketing, and healthcare is also increasing its spend for larger rewards, with an expected escalation of a further 10 percent over the coming years.
When looking at the brands with the largest such financial allocations, with the single notable exception of Proctor & Gamble, the percentage of funds spent on digital and online broadcasting is increasing.
One big take away from how the biggest companies spend these crucial dollars is the vital concept of targeting the right audience. No longer is marketing simply about putting a message in front of as many eyes as possible. It is all about getting that information to the people who are most likely to purchase a product. The key to a successful campaign is determining who this audience is, and how to gain their attention.
There are endless different media options available, and these are increasing by the day. YouTube is currently the darling of many of the biggest brands. Adverts such as that for Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Echo have proven hugely successful, as have those of Samsung’s Galaxy, and Comcast’s Xfinity campaigns.
Although perhaps not quite so much in fashion anymore, it is also important not to dismiss the concept of print advertising without giving it due consideration. Many of the largest allocations continue to dedicate strategic funds to this particular practice, thanks to the advantage of consumers perceiving such methods to be associated with luxury brands. Smaller companies would do well to consider if this is a viable option and will be dependent on the market in which they function.
Where Your Business Should Be Spending Marketing Dollars
Successful companies take a measured approach into how their marketing budgets are spread. Whether this consists of the traditional 10 percent of revenue or has been increased to chase bigger rewards, it is vital for any marketer to make every penny work as hard as it can. This means the creation of a curated promotional strategy that includes both an on and offline approach.
There are four main areas a company needs to determine as to where their marketing dollars are spent. These are on their website design and development, print, e-commerce, and digital marketing.
Website Design
A company’s website should continually evolve along with the business. According to the aforementioned study carried out by Gartner, the most successful businesses spend around 9 percent of their promotional funds on this. As technology and user expectations increase, so too should this showcase window of a company and its products.
In-print options are perhaps the most challenging of all to determine whether or not they are a viable choice, especially for a smaller concern. The luxury goods market and those of real estate, travel, and healthcare are industries that still rely heavily on this medium. It is one that needs careful consideration as to whether it offers a significant return on investment for a company’s particular needs.
E-commerce
E-commerce is all about building brand loyalty, creating a trusted relationship with customers, and also gaining a very real insight into client behavior and their spending habits. Interestingly, it appears that this channel is more heavily relied on by B2C companies, as opposed to B2B, with an average of 8% of targeted resources being dedicated in this area.
Digital Marketing
Creating campaigns on the digital stage is the one area that brings the most exciting potential—both for the giants of industry and for the smaller business with a far more modest budget. Gaining an organic audience continues to be a stumbling point, and is becoming ever more challenging. Paid content is on the increase, and there are many different digital strategies to choose from. However, getting this crucial broadcasting concept right is vital for a business of any size. Digital marketing is expected to account for half the spend on all marketing by 2020.
Because of this, enterprises of all sizes can benefit greatly from pairing up with a digital marketing company. Such a service is dedicated to ensuring that a firm’s publicity dollars are spent in the most productive manner. They are experts in the dynamic world of the online pitch, will know exactly what is available, and how to determine which verticals can bring the most ROI.
The multiple platforms and outlets available through which to target an online campaign are only the first stage to reaching a target audience. Defining the images and message to be put across is vital for a brand to resonate with potential customers. Smashed Media is a digital marketing company that works with businesses of all sizes to reach these goals. They can help determine exactly how and where to place your marketing budget for the best results. Services include all aspects of digital marketing, such as website design, branding, SEO, and PPC, and will assist with the complete development and implementation process to create a successful campaign.
