April 1, 2005
2005 Industry Trends Report
Riding the Tide
Arising tide may lift all boats, but when it comes to the growth of the promotional marketing industry, not all boats are rising as quickly or as far...
Billing Boom Slows
Promotion agency revenues hit an estimated $4.22 billion in 2004, up a respectable 12%. That's less than half of the 26% increase agency execs had been...
No Nickel and Dime
Coupon distribution via free-standing insert was up 7.7% in 2004, according to TNS Media Intelligence, to 251 billion offers the fastest growth rate the...
Mail Call
Direct mail is playing an ever-larger role in promotion. Whether for coupons or sample distribution, building buzz for product discounts or driving consumers...
Starring Role
Thanks to TiVo, some boffo box-office hits and iPod, the stars aligned in 2004 to boost marketer investment in entertainment properties to new heights....
Buzz Gets Louder
Marketers spent an estimated $166 billion on event marketing in 2004, up a healthy 9% for the year. Total 2004 spending wasn't the 15% to 20% jump that...
Beyond the Promise
Technology combined with a drive for customer service pushed fulfillment revenues up 14% in 2004, to $4.7 billion from $4.1 billion in 2003. Not only...
All in the Game
Despite increased sophistication in the delivery, execution and fulfillment of promotional games, contests and sweeps in 2004, marketers ranked this tactic...
Digital Bridges
Web-based games and sweeps? Done that. Online loyalty fulfillment? Natch. Downloadable coupons? Oh, please years ago! To be on the real cutting edge of...
Natural selection
Despite the allure of a masked, web-shooting man, a funny, but cantankerous green ogre and a talking yellow sponge, licensing rights fees rose just slightly...
Happy Customers
Consumers may see loyalty programs as a necessary evil for getting a sale price at a grocery store, or as a chance to belong to an elite ...
Thank You Counts
Solid research helps make the case last year for performance recognition incentive programs. The Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement...
Tuning In at the Shelf
U.S. brands spent $18.45 billion on in-store marketing in 2004, up nearly 5% from the year before, based on PROMO estimates. In-store marketing including...
Teaching Tools
Free, take one. Who doesn't love those freebies picked up at the grocery store, event or in the mail? But if marketers don't properly educate consumers...
Leaving a Mark
Specialty printers' presses ran strong in 2004 as promotional marketers kept the ink flowing. Though more campaigns migrated to the Web, brands continued...
More for Less
Sponsorship spending grew 8.4% in 2004, the highest amount since 2000, and will grow again in 2005, according to Chicago-based sponsorship analysis group...
In the News
Madagascar Bites Off Over $100MM in Tie-ins
Two months before its premiere, brands are clamoring to promote DreamWorks Animation's upcoming children's film, Madagascar. Already, the film has more...
Bratz Rock's with $50 Million Campaign
Tweens want it, so MGA Entertainment will launch a rockin' product line this summer for its Bratz collection. A $50 million marketing campaign will extend...
PROMO Xtra
Excerpts from our e-newsletter 3/16 DaimlerChrysler AG will replace Joachim Schmidt, its top executive for sales and marketing, at its Mercedes Car Group...
Data Point
According to consumers, marketing really works. Research conducted last month for the San Francisco-based International Experience Marketing Association...
Hot Props
No More Sitting Down
Sedentary isn't a word toy manufacturers today find synonymous with most children, no matter what their age. In fact, getting kids off the couch and in...
Marketers
Raising the Bar
In North America, coupons are the most popular consumer promotion. Over the years, there has been some concern about their effectiveness due to declining...
Agencies
History Repeats Itself
Cause marketing rarely gets better than this: The History Channel's Save Our History campaign raised the bar on the ideal intersection of a brand with...
Cover Story
Mass In Transit
BEST BUY is tailoring marketing at the same time it tailors its stores. The retailer has crafted a three-tiered marketing plan balancing mass, customized...
Backward Glance
The Cutting Edge
The January announcement of Procter & Gamble's intent to buy Gillette for $57 billion dollars made me scratch a few numbers. If one of your great grandfathers...
People
Marketing services
Steve McKenzie promoted to executive VP-marketing at CFM Direct, Chicago. Fort Worth, TX-based Range Online Media hired Ashwini Karandikar as director-account...
Client side
IGN Entertainment, Brisbane, CA, a leading Internet media company hired Dale Strang as executive VP and general manager of its media division. Denise...
Editor's Note
Relative values
We have a familiar face on the cover this month. Mike Linton, Best Buy's executive vice president and chief marketing officer, was named one of our Marketers...
