A recent study of B2B marketers in the US showed that over half of them expected all their marketing, advertising and purchasing to be online in 10 years’ time – and nearly 90% expected all their marketing and advertising to be there. I doubt the results would be much different here in Europe.
I confidently predicted nearly 20 years ago that the demise of ‘offline’ B2B advertising and marketing was imminent, so perhaps clairvoyance isn’t a particular talent of mine. Channels such as magazines and direct mail staggered on for many years, but they’re surely on their last legs now. The economics of ‘controlled circulation’ free magazines makes no sense any more.
Those marketers still using ‘offline’ advertising and marketing need to consider how whatever they’re still using it for can be taken online, because the choice won’t be available forever. If, for example, it’s considered to be an important channel for branding, creating an online equivalent may require a different approach that might need a number of years’ work.