New Survey Highlights Trends in Content Marketing

For all of you out there who love numbers and are interested in content marketing, listen up. I came across a recent survey, put out by King Fish Media, that compares companies who create and market their own content versus traditional advertising and communication tactics. Reaching 230 corporate management and marketing/sales management personnel, the 2009 Survey on Marketing, Media and Measurement found that more and more companies are directly communicating with their customers and prospects via homegrown content marketing. Companies are realizing that they can recruit the same audience that media brands were once solely relied upon for doing.

The study states, “Nearly two-thirds believe that content from a brand or company is perceived as having the same or more value than content from a media brand. More importantly, they feel that having their own original content will produce a better return on marketing dollars than traditional advertising, and they have reallocated their budgets to invest more in original content development.”

According to the survey, companies are reallocating dollars that were once spent on print and broadcast advertising and are instead using it for the development of their own content for platforms such as websites, social media, custom events and lead generation. Having a direct reach to customers, companies can better measure their ROI and see first hand how their marketing dollars are paying off via new customers, leads and increased overall sales. In an economy such as the one we’re in, those statistics are often times the key to keeping doors open.

Below are a few results that I found interesting, however feel free to download the entire survey here and share with us what your company is doing in terms of content marketing efforts.


Q: Does your company create or plan to create original content for your customers and prospects?
A: 86% Yes
7% Plan to in the next 12 months
4% No
3% Don’t know

Q. Do you think brands and companies can create content that is as engaging and informative as content created by media companies?
A. 81% Yes
10% No
9% Undecided

Q. How do you think information from a corporate-sponsored source is perceived compared to information from traditional media sources?
A. 20% More valuable
36% The same value
32% Less value
12% Don’t know

Q. Based on your current experiences, which type of marketing communications is more effective for generating marketing ROI?
A. 4% Advertise in a traditional advertising vehicle
74% Create your own original content and media
16% Both the same
5% Don’t know

Q. Please characterize how the allocation of your marketing/media budget has shifted in the last three years.
A. 70% Spending more to reach customers and prospect directly with our own content
6% Spending more on advertising
22% There has been no shift in spending


-- Mary Evans