Digital Response Media a UK-based agency, posted recent data on the importance of online lead generation. Here are couple of quick excerpts from their website.

Online lead generation ‘to see above-average growth’

Tuesday, 25 November 2008

Online lead generation will be one of the areas of advertising that will see above-average growth over the next two years, a new report has predicted.

According to Collins Stewart’s latest Global Internet report, lead generation, search, email and online video will all surpass average industry growth rates in the next two years.

Lead generation in particular will see worldwide revenue growth of 20 per cent to almost $2.5 billion (£1.7 billion) this year, 15 per cent in 2009 and 23 per cent in 2010, Collins Stewart said.

It also stated that it is cutting its forecast for the overall global advertising sector, which will expand by 10.9 per cent in 2009 instead of the 19.7 per cent previously predicted by the company.

An E-consultancy study published earlier this year showed that two-thirds of UK marketers believed search was the most cost-effective form of online lead generation for their organisations.

Lead generation ‘key in recession’

Thursday, 13 November 2008

Internet marketers will need to focus on online lead generation and search marketing during the downturn, (outgoing) Yahoo! chief executive Jerry Yang has said.

He told the Internet Advertising Bureau’s 2008 Engage conference earlier this week that the online marketing industry is likely to see out the credit crunch and come out of it in stronger shape than before.

Mr Yang noted that lead generation and search will be particularly important during the recession as performance-based advertising is vital to driving direct response.

“People are still searching – the question is are they searching for commercial or non-commercial things?” he asked.

Mr Yang also urged brand marketers to continue investing in advertising as consumers are still buying goods and engaging with brands in spite of the credit crunch.

Marketers must also offer relevant, innovative and engaging content in order to pull in these consumers, he noted.

This follows a recent Yahoo! study indicating that four-fifths of web users feel overloaded by online information and would be willing to pay attention to advertising if they felt they were getting something worthwhile in return.

Digital campaigns ‘to become more focused on lead generation’

Wednesday, 12 November 2008

Companies’ digital marketing campaigns are set to become more focused on online lead generation in the coming months, according to one expert.

Writing in an article for Online Video Insider, Alan Schulman of the Digital Innovations Group noted that elements such as video ads will play a bigger role in lead generation, incentive and trial activation, and loyalty programs in the next year.

To this end, online video advertising should not be viewed as a standalone campaign; rather, they should be integrated into wider online lead generation and other strategies, Mr Schulman said.

“We’ve got to get busy enhancing the opportunity for online video ad units to function as an exclusive and more compelling opportunity for advertisers to reach a quality prospect with a more engaging message,” he remarked.

A recent study by Gartner predicted that the market for protail video ads – clips that fall between the categories of professional content and user-generated videos – will grow to be worth more than $1.2 billion (£781 million) worldwide by 2012.