MARKETING SENTIMENT SURVEY 2017

Please note : © All content MediaCom & The Irish Times. Permission to use the findings from this survey is provided on

condition that the source is clearly identified as : “MediaCom Ireland / The Irish Times Marketing Sentiment Survey 2017”

Marketing investment is an essential

ingredient for any economy, any sector and

any business with the ambition to grow. At the

beginning of every new year, there tends to be

a myriad of forecasts by agencies on how they

see investment in various media channels

performing in the months ahead. But

investment in media is only one part of the

marketing communications mix and the

definition of what constitutes ‘media’ anyway

has changed utterly.

For this reason, MediaCom Ireland came

together with the country’s leading news

publisher, The Irish Times, to gauge the views

of the people who influence and shape

marketing decisions. These in turn ultimately

determine the fortunes of media companies,

agencies and the broader marketing

communications community.

The study is designed therefore to be a timely

measure of the pulse of business decision-

makers (not just marketing people), on their

intentions, expectations and areas of focus

for marketing in the year ahead.

Peter McPartlin

CEO, MediaCom Ireland

BACKGROUND

CONTENT

SURVEY BACKGROUND

EXPECTATIONS & PRIORITIES FOR 2017

MARKETING INVESTMENT

LEVELS & INTENTIONS

WHY ARE SOME

INVESTING LESS?

THE CHANNELS LIKELY TO

BENEFIT

#marketing2017

SAMPLE PEOPLE SECTORS TIMING

209 RESPONDENTS

All had an influence or

active participation in

decisions relating to

marketing within their

company.

Nationwide sample

Primary sample included

Marketing directors &

Managers, MD’s, CEO’s,

Owner-managers,

Finance directors, CTO’s,

Dept. heads, Consultants

Retail, FMCG, Finance,

Insurance, IT/Tech,

Business Services,

Construction, Leisure,

Hospitality, Media

Agriculture, Energy,

Education, Healthcare,

Pharmaceutical

Charities, Semi-State,

Government bodies,

December 9th-23rd, 2016

From the iReach

Business Decisions

panel

METHODOLOGY

26%New Irish

Competitors

9%Expected

Mergers & Acquisitions

21%Competitor Innovation

19%New Global Competitors

ANTICIPATED CHANGES IN 2017

37%Price

Cutting

Q: Do you anticipate any of the following changes in your competitive landscape next year? Please

select all that apply. (multiple select n = 209)

1. CUSTOMER SERVICE

2. SUPERIOR QUALITY

3. TRUST

4%

6%

13%

18%

25%

34%

62%

67%

69%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Loyalty Programmes

Guarantees/Warranties

Innovation (in products /…

After sales care

Convenience/availability

Low prices

Trusted relationship

Superior quality

Customer service

Most important to customers in 2017

Q: Please rank the top 3 factors you feel will be the most important to your main customers in

the year ahead? (1 being the most important). (single select matrix table n = 209)

“Marketing is best

when balanced as a

long-term and a short-

term investment”“More measurement

is needed to

demonstrate

marketing's payback

to a business”

“Marketing is playing

a more critical role in

the boardroom over

the last number of

years”

“The increase in customer data has made marketing

easier over the last number of years”.

94%agree

89%agree

89%agree

77%agree

MARKETING’S ROLE IN BUSINESS

1. BUILDING AWARENESS

2. USING SOCIAL MEDIA

3. UPSELLING

8%

14%

24%

24%

26%

29%

30%

30%

32%

39%

43%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Strategic use of customer data

Product / service innovation

Countering the competition

Improve sales conversation rate

Customer retention

Increased loyalty (average…

Increased penetration

Expanding into new markets

Up-selling to current customers

Using social media to drive…

Increasing brand awareness

Marketing Priorities for 2017

Q: Please select from the list below your top 3 marketing priorities for the year ahead.. (single

select matrix table n = 209)

10% (SME’s)

Vs.

22% (LARGE Co’s)

24% (SME’s)

Vs.

5% (LARGE Co’s)

STRATEGIC USE OF CUSTOMER

DATA

IMPROVED SALES CONVERSION

RATE

MAJOR DIFFERENCES BY COMPANY SIZE

BIG DIFFERENCES IN OTHER

PRIORITIES TOO

Q: Please select from the list below your top 3 marketing priorities for the year

ahead. With 1 being the most important. (single select matrix table n = 209)

Large

Co’s

SME’S

Countering the competition 37% 29%

Products / service innovation 27% 12%

Strategic use of customer data 22% 10%

Increased loyalty 15% 25%

Improve sales conversion rate 5% 24%

Marketing Priorities for 2017

ANNUAL REVENUE SPENT

ON MARKETING

Q: What percentage of your annual revenue do you spend on

marketing? (Single select, n = 209

5%

8%

25%

59%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Over 15%

11-15%

6-10%

1-5%

Average % of revenue spent on marketing

7%

9%

Average % / All companies

Average % / Large companies

ALMOST 1 IN 3 PLAN

TO SPEND MORE

Q: Do you plan to invest more or less on marketing in 2017? (Single select, n = 209)

29%

64%

7%

Marketing Investment Intentions for 2017

MARKETING

SPEND THE SAME

SPEND MORE

SPEND LESS

SPENDING LESS IS ROOTED IN

BUSINESS & ECONOMIC FACTORS

BUT PROOF OF ROI IS A CONCERN

35% Business

factors (budget

cuts, reduced

output)

1 2

3 4

33% Economic

factors (market

confidence,

currency issues)

25% Lack of Return

On Investment

(ROI) evidence

10% Reduction in

global

marketing

spend

Q: If you plan to spend less , what are the main reasons for reducing marketing

spend?. (Multiple select, n = 41) Other: 10%

1. WEB & E-COMMERCE

2. ADVERTISING

3. DIRECT-MARKETING

3%

8%

10%

10%

21%

25%

28%

31%

49%

79%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Other

Experiential / Sponsorship

Influencer/Blogger marketing

Market research

Brand redesign/refresh

PR & communications

Price promotions/sampling

Direct marketing (incl. email)

Advertising

Website / e-commerce

Where they are planning to spend more

Q: Please select the following areas that you plan to invest more on

marketing in 2017. (Multiple select, n =61)

74% 39% 33% 21% 20%

Q: Please state whether you plan to invest more on the

following advertising types in 2017. (Multiple select, n = 61)

SOCIAL MEDIA RADIOSEARCH

(SEO / PPC)

NEWS PUBLISHERS

(PRINT + DIDGITAL)

ONLINE DISPLAY

(INCL. PROGRAMMATIC)

TOP 5 CHANNELS FOR FURTHER INVESTMENT IN 2017

15% 15% 11% 11% 5%

MAGAZINES TELEVISION CONTENT

MARKETINGOUT OF HOME DIGITAL VIDEO

5%

CINEMA

OTHER CHANNELS FOR FURTHER INVESTMENT IN 2017

Q: Please state whether you plan to invest more on the following

advertising types in 2017. (Multiple select, n = 61)

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS

#marketing2017

CUSTOMERS

Are we

remembering to

truly keep

customers at the

heart of

marketing?

DIGITAL

Have the

fundamentals of

marketing,

brands and

communication

been lost in the

rush?

MEASUREMENT

Are we spending

too much time

measuring the

wrong things and

not enough on

creating better

marcomms?

SOME THOUGHTS

#marketing2017

MARKETING SENTIMENT SURVEY 2017