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Despite the worldwide financial and economic crisis, 79 per cent of marketing decision-makers throughout Europe say they want to increase their investment in online marketing in 2009.

The Digital Marketing Compass 6 survey shows that online media is firmly established in Europe and already used as frequently as traditional media. In addition, the trend towards greater marketing efficiency by increased use of digital is proving to be relatively crisis-proof. Europe's cultural, economic and political diversity is also reflected in the results of the study: when it comes to planning and implementing online marketing, each country has its own unique characteristics.

In contrast to many other studies about online media, not only were 'big spenders' surveyed, but also decision-makers in small and medium-sized companies who often conduct their media planning in-house.

Summary of Digital Marketing Compass 6 -- a European outlook for 2009

Online versus offline
Online media is already being used as often in Europe as traditional media. The majority of advertisers in Europe (77 per cent) think that online media are flexible and feel that target groups can be easily reached online (64 per cent). In addition, 43 per cent of those surveyed think online media deliver better results than offline media. For many decision makers, online marketing is also suitable for branding campaigns.

Better target group access, increased coverage, speed and flexibility are online media's greatest strengths according to those surveyed.

Media budgets
Even in these times of economic crisis, the media budget allocation changed only slightly compared to 2008. The share of the online marketing budget for Europe as a whole increased from 22 per cent to 24 per cent in 2009. However, there are huge regional and industry differences when it comes to online marketing's share of the entire budget.

Overall, 79 per cent of those surveyed plan on investing more in the internet in 2009 than they did in 2008. Media budgets are usually distributed between online and offline in an annual strategy, and often depend on current market activities or the successes of the previous year. Finally, the breakdown of online campaigns into branding (38 per cent) versus performance/transaction campaigns (41 per cent) is generally not going to change in 2009.

Online media activity
It appears that marketers have found their ideal marketing mix, or do not want to risk experimenting in times of financial and economic uncertainty.
In 2008, the frequency of e-mail marketing usage was extraordinarily high, with 32 per cent of respondents saying they used it. Comparatively, the corresponding figure for display and search combined is just 26 per cent. E-mail marketing looks to continue to be the big winner for 2009 as well, and all other channels remain at roughly the same level recorded in the previous year, although display declined slightly. The use of social media increased from 6 per cent in 2008 to 7 per cent in 2009.

Positioning and branding
Overall, a clear trend towards quality and professionalism is evident. Three-quarters of those surveyed consider the positioning of campaigns to be important. 60 per cent of respondents agree with the statement that 'brand impact' is just as important as the measurable quantitative success of a campaign. The instruments of the digital marketing mix, such as SEO and SEM, are increasingly being implemented by specialist agencies.

Marketing mix
Overall, a strong majority of people surveyed (75 per cent) believe there will be a significant change in the communication mix, determined by fundamental alterations in media consumption.

Various digital marketing media will continue to increase strongly to very strongly in importance. Mobile marketing, e-mail marketing with the company's own address pool, and search-related marketing (SEO and SEM) are gaining in significance. 60 per cent of those surveyed had invested more or considerably more in online marketing in 2008. For 2009, they anticipate less investment activity. Overall, however, the majority still think that their companies will invest more or considerably more in the internet in 2009.

National trends
There are significant differences in digital marketing activity between the 14 European countries. Display advertising or web services are used more often in Germany and Switzerland than in other countries, while e-mail marketing is of less importance there compared to other European countries. In contrast, countries such as Turkey, Italy, Belgium or Sweden use e-mail marketing (in particular with external addresses) more frequently than other countries.

Growth is occurring at different levels in the countries surveyed. For instance, while the share of online media will increase in Belgium from 14 per cent to 16 per cent in 2009, its share in the U.K. will increase from 27 per cent to 30 per cent.

Large versus small-to-medium-size marketers
Some results show notable differences between companies that plan their own media marketing and have budgets of less than a million euros, and larger companies that employ agencies. The former invest a greater share of their overall budget in online marketing (2008: 24 per cent versus 18 per cent) and invest a larger percentage of their budget in e-mail marketing -- especially with their own addresses -- or web services. The use of comparatively low-priced social media is also more pronounced in companies that plan their own media marketing.

Larger companies that employ agencies use display advertising more frequently.

Companies that plan their own media marketing attach just as much importance to 'brand impact' as they do to quantitatively measurable campaign success. For companies that employ agencies, clicks and ROI have top priority.

Stefan Laengin is the managing director for Germany, EMEA at Neo Ogilvy.