Spending on Content Marketing Rose in 2011

According to the 2011 "Spending Study" conducted by the Custom Content Council, companies spent an average of $1,914,000 on branded content in 2011 (the highest number ever recorded). Of course, a few very large brands embracing the content marketing mantra drove the reported number up that high. (One of my all-time favorite content marketers, State Farm was a respondent).

While the total number might be a bit high, read on to see how you compare in spending your content marketing budget.

"This spending study shows growth points across a number of major factors – from outsourcing to higher budget allocations,” said Lori Rosen of the Custom Content Council regarding the study, released in November 2011.

These are just a few excerpts from the study. I recommend reading the news release for more information.

• Publication budgets increased by 68%. Study sites this as the biggest driver of growth from 2010 to 2011.
• "26% of the overall marketing spend was allocated to branded content."
• "16% of marketers reported that their companies are shifting aggressively from traditional marketing into branded content."
• Reasons for using branded content remain the same:
  • Number 1 reason was to educate customers.
  • Number 2 reason was retention.
  • "Though it made some modest gains, up-selling customers was ranked as a low priority, indicating that in the minds of marketers branded content is viewed as a long-term investment rather than transactional."

• "72% of marketers think branded content is more effective than advertising in a magazine.
  • 62% say it is more effective than advertising on TV; 69% say it is superior to both direct mail and public relations."
• The average total branded content spend on outsourcing was 17% of the total branded content budget for companies that did and did not outsource. For companies that did outsource, it accounted for almost 41% of the total branded content spend.
• "The use of services of external agencies (such as custom publishers, PR/marketing firms, design firms, video production companies or interactive agencies) to handle some aspect of branded content initiatives remains consistent at around 50%."

That's it for now. I'll leave you with this interesting infographic I recently enjoyed: A Brief History of Content Marketing.

This blog post was originally published on the Priority Blog at priorityresults.com/blog. Priority Integrated Marketing is now BlueSpire Strategic Marketing.