13 th Annual Industry Characteristics Study. A Look at the Volume and Type of Content Marketing in America for 2013

Transcription

1 13 th Annual Industry Characteristics Study A Look at the Volume and Type of Content Marketing in America for 2013

2 Executive Corporate America spent $43.9 billion on content marketing in 2012, a 9.2% increase over the $40.2 billion reported last year and the second highest amount ever recorded since this survey was first conducted in The spending is grouped into three buckets: print, electronic and other forms which include branded video, podcasts, live events and white papers. Increases in spending were experienced in all of these categories. For the first time this year, our survey asked about the creation of content explicitly for social media and SEO purposes. The results were profound, if not entirely surprising: these two formats are a big component of the content marketing scene, with 81% of marketers engaging in social content creation, and 33% creating SEO content. Last year we predicted that the day when print would relinquish its throne as the most commonly used content marketing format was forthcoming within a few years. In the end, 2012 was that year: web based content marketing is in use by 85% of organizations, while 81% report using print forms. Nonetheless, print is obviously still a very widely used format. The dramatic proliferation of branded video continues unabated. Three years ago, 37% of marketers said they used branded video; last year that number rose to 52%. In 2012, that number rose again, to 68%. Branded video is closing in on web and print as one of content marketing s most common forms and 57% of survey respondents plan to create even more in 2013!

3 PREFERRED CONTENT MARKETING FORMS 100.0% For the second time this year, we compared usage of content marketing among all the different formats. For the first time this year, web was more common than print. 87.0% 85.0% 83.0% 82.0% 79.0% 75.0% 81.0% 71.0% 61.0% 74.0% 68.0% Even though elements of the print business are declining, print remains an enormously popular format for content marketing. 50.0% 25.0% 0.0% 52.0% 44.0% 38.0% 30.0% 38.0% Print Web Video Virtual Events 38.0% 34.0% 30.0% White Papers 24.0% 24.0% 23.0% 18.0% 24.0% 15.0% Podcasts E-Zines Video has been the fastest and most consistently growing medium for content marketing, but even by those standards, 2012 represented explosive growth within the medium 68% of respondents now report using video in their content marketing, up from 52% last year. Video is now closing in on and web forms in terms of overall prominence.

4 Characteristics of Print Forms of Content Marketing

5 UNIQUE TITLES PER COMPANY The number of unique printed custom publication titles produced per company dropped to an all-time low of This continues a general trend over the last five years toward fewer titles per company

6 FREQUENCY PER TITLE The average annual frequency of printed custom publications fell to 6.1 times per year or, roughly speaking, a bi-monthly frequency

7 PAGES PER ISSUE The average page count per issue for printed custom publications rose to 30.2 pages, the largest total in the history of the survey

8 CIRCULATION PER ISSUE The average circulation per issue for printed custom publications rose slightly to 50,943 per issue. 50,000 52,010 50,943 47,448 48,162 The trend toward higher circulation, first seen four years ago, remains strong. 43,068 40,000 37,340 35,221 36,275 30,000 30,044 26,860 20,000 21,882 21,878 19,595 18,587 10,

9 ANNUAL CIRCULATION PER TITLE The average annual circulation per printed custom publication title combines average annual frequency per title with average circulation per issue. Thousands (000) For 2012, the average annual circulation per title was 310,752 copies (6.1 frequency x 50,943 circulation). Since the outset of the survey, annual circulation per title has grown more than 150%, although growth has leveled off in recent years

10 PRIMARY AUDIENCE 100% 75% 50% 22% 21% 27% 29% 31% 36% 37%35% 41% 49% 55% 54% 72% 80% Internal External 78% 79% 73% 71%69% 64% 63% 65% 59% For the tenth year running, titles targeting external audiences exceeded those targeting internal audiences (78% versus 22%). As noted in previous years, this trend is likely a result of the effectiveness of printed custom publications as external marketing vehicles, and the effectiveness of electronic solutions namely intranets as internal marketing vehicles. 25% 51% 45% 46% 0% 28% 20%

11 EXTERNAL AUDIENCE 100% As seen on the prior slide, 73% of printed custom publications are targeting external audiences, a group that is comprised of both businesses (BtoB) and consumers (BtoC). 75% 50% 25% 63% 64% 63% 63% 46% 46% 45% 48% 48% 45% BtoC BtoB 54% 54% 55% 53% 52% 55% Of those printed custom publications targeting external audiences, the majority of them (63%) are BtoC versus BtoB. The staying power of this trend has proven to be both strong and consistent, and marks a reversal from the early years of the survey. 37% 36% 37% 37% 0%

12 DISTRIBUTION METHOD 100% 75% 50% 25% 10% 6% 8% 10% 8% 4% 8% 9% 8% 9% 55% 69% 75% 74% 63% 66% 65% 73% 74% 76% Other Paid Delivery US Postal Service Internal Distribution While the USPS dominance as the distribution method for publications continues, this year saw gains in both other paid delivery options and internal distribution methods. This may mark the beginning of a shift away from the USPS as they introduce abbreviated service; how profound this shift becomes, or if it even truly materializes, remains to be seen. 21% 19% 19% 16% 16% 22% 29% 25% 27% 36% 0%

13 USE FOUR COLOR No Four Color Some Four Color Perhaps the most consistent trend among custom publication is the usage of four color printing throughout custom publications which has continued to grow unabated since % 75% 10% 11% 12% 15% 17% 21% 20% 21% 13% 15% 19% 19% 18% 18% 18% 20% All Four Color 32% 32% 39% 41% 40% 46% This year an all-time high of 90% of companies used some or all four color in the production of their printed custom publications. 17% 21% 50% 21% 22% 16% 15% 77% 74% 69% 66% 65% 61% 62% 59% 25% 51% 47% 40% 37% 44% 39% 0%

14 100% PUBLICATION FORMAT 5% 5% 7% 4% 4% 8% 8% 10% 9% 9% 11% 7% 12% 11% The magazine format among custom publications battled back from it s dip last year and was reported as the format of choice by 60% of all titles an all-time high. 75% 50% 29% 48% 46%47% 43%50% 60% 56% 47% 42%39%30% 29% 24% Tabloid Magazine Newsletter 25% 35% 49%52%59%64% 65% 59% 47% 50%49%49% 42% 43% 37% 0%

15 PRESENCE OF ADVERTISEMENTS 100% 75% 50% 28% 15% 20% 17% 19% 23% 30% 26% 29% 27% 26% 34% 11% 9% 12% 9% 11% 6% 11% 20% 14% 16% Paid Ads In-House Ads No Ads The presence of paid advertising in custom publications. made a strong gain in 2012 Acceptance of paid advertising is often cyclical, with marketers accepting paid advertising on an inbound basis. These inbound opportunities often only present themselves in relatively bullish economies, as we re experiencing now. 25% 56% 63% 59% 62% 70% 68% 62% 46% 62% 67% 70% 0%

16 AVERAGE AGE PER TITLE Seven years ago, we introduced more options for survey responders in answering questions related to the age of their printed custom publications Average age increased slightly, from 8.6 to 9.3 years, the highest ever

17 TITLES IN THE MARKET Thousands (000) The number of unique printed custom publication titles published in America decreased slightly, to 85,586, an all-time low This decline corresponds to the reduced number of titles produced by each organization as counted by our survey

18 CIRCULATION IN THE MARKET Billions (000,000,000) The total number of printed custom publication copies distributed (titles x average frequency x average circulation) dipped by 2.5% to 26.6 billion units. This was largely a result of titles per company and frequency declines; average circulation per title, as noted earlier, actually rose in

19 UNIQUE PAGES IN THE MARKET Millions (000,000) The total number of unique printed pages (titles x average pages per issue x frequency) produced by Corporate America was 15.8 million, up 5.5% from This was fueled by the highest-ever average page count per title, as noted earlier

20 Characteristics of Other Forms of Content Marketing

21 OTHER FORMS OF BRANDED CONTENT Yes 100% No For the first time this year, we added social content and SEO content to the list of other forms of content we asked about in the survey. 75% 50% 25% 74% 26% 24% 76% 34% 66% 68% 32% 23% 77% 85% 15% 38% 62% 65% 35% 81% 19% 33% 67% Social content refers to content created explicitly for use in facebook, twitter, linkedin, youtube, or other forms of social media. As evidenced by the overwhelming 81% yes response, social content quickly became the #2 most-used form of other branded content, second only to non-social-specific website updates. 0% SEO content refers to content created explicitly to enhance search rankings. One-third of marketers report creating this type of content.

22 FORECASTED USE OF OTHER FORMS 100% 75% 17% 14% 40% 31% 43% 44% 41% 29% 57% will do less will do more Other formats continue to be very hot, with very few responders saying they will do less in the coming year. In fact, for e-zines, web site updates, mobile content, social content, and SEO content, no respondents said they will do less. 50% 25% 82% 86% 69% 43% 61% 60% 65% 57% 56% 59% no change Once again, the appetite for video reigns most voracious among all the forms, with 57% of respondents expecting to use more -- an even higher number than last year (54%). 0% Bullishness across the various forms of digital content web updates, social content and SEO content is remarkably consistent, with 40-44% of respondents expecting to increase their output within those three forms.

23 FREQUENCY OF OTHER FORMS The average marketer updated its web site(s) 165x over three times per week with articles/posts and other content; an increase in frequency over the 2011 figure (145x). However, the new category of social content is utilized even more frequently 210x per year, or 4x per week. This is not surprising given that the social channels are meant to distribute smaller, more digestible pieces of content on a more frequent scale. A significant amount of content is being produced for SEO purposes about 2 pieces per week on average.

24 Market Spend

25 OVERALL MONEY SPENT $50 (Production and Distribution Only) Spending on production and distribution, which might reflect Corporate America s budget for content marketing rose to $43.9 billion, the 2 nd highest amount recorded. Billions (000,000,000) $40 $30 $20 $5.3 $5.2 $3.6 $13.4 $11.4 $12.5 $25.2 $23.6 $24.0 $4.2 $12.1 other forms electronic print $37.3 $34.1 $30.9 $27.3 $28.4 $22.0 $18.3 $17.0 $14.2 $12.9 All forms print, electronic and other experienced growth. Overall, the rise was 9.2%. Print remains the biggest piece of the content marketing pie in terms of spending. $

26 OVERALL MONEY SPENT (Production Only) $30 $3.6 $3.5 $2.4 $2.9 $8.9 other forms electronic print Excluding costs related to distribution and personnel assigned to content marketing projects, Corporate America spent $28.4 billion on the production of content marketing, up from $26.0 billion last year. Billions (000,000,000) $20 $10 $8.3 $7.2 $8.9 $23.1 $24.5 $20.3 $18.5 $18.3 $16.5 $15.3$15.1 $14.9 $13.2$11.6 $9.9 $9.4 $

27 SPENDING AS PART OF THE MIX 40% 30% Of the average overall marketing, advertising and communications budget, 39% of the funds were dedicated to content marketing by far the highest portion ever seen in our survey. 20% 39% 10% 26% 29% 32% 24% 27% 24% 23% 25% 22% 23% 13% 0%

28 Sponsors The Custom Content Council (CCC) is the lead trade organization representing custom publishers and other custom content creators in North America. The research herein was conducted by the monthly subscription newsletter ContentWise ( which is a leading source of news, information and research on the content marketing industry. Methodology The research was conducted via an ed survey targeting a random sample of companies across all industries. Eight thousand survey invitations were ed and approximately 339 were completed and returned, producing a +/- 6% degree of accuracy at a 90% confidence level. Among the responding companies were: PepsiCo, Oracle, Electronic Arts, Kaiser Permanente, Clariant Corporation, Honda, State Farm Insurance, and Costco Wholesale. More Information For more information on custom publishing go to or call the CCC in New York by dialing To subscribe to ContentWise call or visit the website noted above.