Despite cuts to marketing budgets and limited growth in the industry, companies continue to recognize the importance of digital marketing shown by continuing growth figures, and led by new technologies and channels providing more intelligent ad serving and bidding into more media. Last minute advertising opportunities have never been stronger than in the constantly-changing interactive ad space.

Carat, a prominent media company, reported a mixed picture of advertising spending over the past six months. For example, newspaper ad spending decreased by 3.5% while radio spending showed a small increase of 2.1%. By contrast digital spending was predicted to “lead the way” with growth of 7.7%. In fact, the Internet Advising Bureau reported that online advertising hit £4 bn in March of this year, and overtook TV advertising in 2009.

It’s a similar story in the US. A Business Insider review of ad spending since 2007 showed that spending on online marketing grew after 2009 cuts, while spending on newspapers decreased steadily. In the past year, spending on internet ads increased by 10% while spending on newspaper ads declined by 0.2%. Print media is in trouble, according to the World Association of Newspapers, digital ad revenue will not replace that lost in print.

WARC reported that companies are now allocating 25% of their marketing budgets to social media, mobile and video advertising. Econsultancy reports that three quarters of the 500 companies they researched are increasing their digital marketing budgets by an average of 35% per year. In straitened economic circumstances, this shows the increasing credibility and importance of digital marketing.

So what’s behind this increasing investment in digital marketing techniques? There’s a lingering misconception that social media and viral advertising is a cheap and easy way to attract customers. But creating a successful digital campaign is just as challenging as in more traditional media like newspapers, TV or billboards.

Consider the Royal Opera House’s successful viral promotion of Romeo and Juliet. Rather than using traditional newspaper ads and billboards, they created a mock chat show called Danny knows Best with the tag “My racist father is holding me hostage.” Juliet was shown saying “my father doesn’t like him because he ain’t white.” Far more innovative than a picture on a page.

The increasing amount of time Britons spend on the web may also come into play. The average surfer spends approximately 22 hours per month – about a day and a night. They also tend to pass this time on blogs and social media websites, according to the BBC. With newspaper readership declining, campaigns follow the customers.

WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell said recently that he was expecting a “soggier back end” in the fourth quarter of this financial year. The challenge to brand owners is to make the decision as to which is their primary channel. Sogginess comes from dipping toes into many waters without deciding which is the best channel. But whatever the brands decide, the future seems bright for online marketing.

Still trying to decide which is the best channel for you? Or how to redeploy your traditional media into the interactive, digital space? Or just finding that contrary to these figures, your budget is severely reduced so you have to get more, for less. Submit your brief now and find the answers at the Creative Services Exchange.