Surprisingly, traditional channels such as TV and radio are also still proving popular, the survey highlights.

Social media, search engines and audio and video platforms are overshadowing most advertising channels. Almost 90% of German marketers taking part in the survey expect advertising budgets for search engines to grow by up to 10% or even more.

Internationally, over 70% of the surveyed marketers were of the same opinion. More than 97% of German respondents and nearly 90% of international respondents stated that they expect the budget in their own company to remain the same or increase. According to the survey, very few anticipate a lower advertising budget for search engine marketing (2% in Germany, 11% internationally).

A similar picture emerged with regard to social media channels, with more than 90% of German marketers and over 70% of international marketers expecting spending to rise. When it came to their own company, it was above 70%.

The majority of the marketers surveyed also foresee a growth in budgets earmarked for video and audio platforms, both on the market as a whole (80% in Germany, 70% internationally) and in their own company (75% in Germany and 53% internationally).

According to the survey, editorial content is in demand, but predominantly in digital form. While almost 60% of German and international marketers taking part in the survey anticipate that the budgets for print advertising will fall on the market as a whole, they are slightly more optimistic in terms of their own company.

Close to 38% (Germany) and 44% (internationally) are expecting a decrease. In addition, many of the marketers expect the budgets to remain at the same level (43% in Germany and 44% internationally). Advertising on editorial content websites, on the other hand, is in demand. In this segment, 83% of German marketers and almost 78% of international marketers predict growth on the market as a whole.

Alongside the digital platforms, traditional media such as TV and radio are also not becoming any less relevant, says the survey. Nearly 65% of German marketers and 64% of international marketers expect budgets to remain at the same level or even increase by up to 10% on the market as a whole.

Opinions are split when it comes to radio advertising: while almost 70% of German respondents expect the allocated budgets to remain at the same level or increase by up to 10%, internationally it was only about 50%. Here, 47% of marketers actually expect the budgets to decrease.

"The coronavirus crisis is also having a noticeable impact on the advertising industry and leaving its marks. New channels are emerging and priorities are shifting and being redefined," says Jan Garnefeld, director sales and operations at DMEXCO.

"Our survey really highlights that although the digital trend is continuing to gain ground, traditional channels such as TV and radio are not becoming any less relevant. For advertisers, that especially means that a balanced media mix is becoming increasingly important for ensuring that all touchpoints are catered for," concludes Garnefeld.

The non-representative DMEXCO Trend Survey was conducted by DMEXCO as an online survey in April 2021. Responses from German and international participants from the DMEXCO community were evaluated. The respondents were composed of visitors, exhibitors, speakers and journalists.

For more information, visit www.dmexco.com