Content Marketing in the UK 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends by CMA and DMA sponsored by Axonn

Content Marketing in THE UK 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
2
 Welcome................................................................................................................................................. 3
 Usage & Overall Effectiveness.............................................................................................................. 4
 Strategy & Organization........................................................................................................................ 6
 Goals & Metrics..................................................................................................................................... 10
 Content Creation & Distribution........................................................................................................ 13
 Budgets & Spending............................................................................................................................ 22
 Challenges & Initiatives...................................................................................................................... 24
 Comparison Chart: Documented vs. Verbal-Only Content Marketing Strategy.......................... 29
 Demographics...................................................................................................................................... 30
 About..................................................................................................................................................... 31
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WELCOME
Hello Content Marketers,
Welcome to the third annual Content Marketing in the UK 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets,
and Trends. This year, we look at how UK for-profit marketers (both B2B and B2C)
approach content marketing as compared with last year.
One of the most prominent findings this year is that UK marketers have become
much more focused on their goals for content marketing—and those goals have
changed. The percentage of marketers who say lead nurturing is a goal, for example,
has nearly tripled. Engagement has surpassed brand awareness as the most often
cited goal. Even so, creating engaging content is the top challenge for UK marketers;
yet, many are working on initiatives to improve in that regard.
As was the case last year, UK marketers feel more effective at content marketing when
compared with many North American and Australian marketers, which are groups
that Content Marketing Institute (CMI) also reports on. As CMI found with all groups,
having a documented content marketing strategy is an important key to success.
Best wishes on your continued content marketing journey.
Yours in content,
Joe & Chris
Joe Pulizzi
Founder
Content Marketing Institute
Chris Combemale
Executive Director
DMA UK
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USAGE & OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS Does your organization
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use content marketing?
85% say yes
Last year, 88% of UK respondents said they
use content marketing. Back then, we defined
content marketing as the “creation and
distribution of educational and/or compelling
content in multiple media formats to attract and/
or retain customers.”
This year, we defined content marketing as
“a strategic marketing approach focused on
creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and
consistent content to attract and retain a clearly
defined audience—and, ultimately, to drive
profitable customer action.”
The new definition—crafted by Content
Marketing Institute in early 2014—better reflects
how content marketing has grown from the mere
“creation and distribution” of content to a formal
business discipline.
Percentage of UK Respondents
Using Content Marketing
85%
Yes
15%
No
Content Marketing in the UK 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Content Marketing Institute/DMA UK

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USAGE & OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS
5
Overall, how effective is
your organization at
content marketing?
42% say they are effective
Note: For purposes of our annual survey,
we define effectiveness as “accomplishing
your overall objectives.” Those who rate their
organizations a 4 or 5 (on a scale of 1 to 5, with
5 being “Very Effective” and 1 being “Not at all
Effective”) are the “most effective” or “best-in-class.”
The 1s and 2s are considered the “least
effective,” while the 3s are neutral.
Last year, 48% of UK marketers said they
were effective. Having a documented content
marketing strategy helps in this regard: 71% of
those who possess one say they are effective.
How UK Marketers Rate the
Effectiveness of Their Organization’s
Use of Content Marketing
Very Effective 6%
36%
37%
18%
Not At All Effective 3%
0 10 20 30 40 50
5
4
3
2
1

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STRATEGY & ORGANIZATION
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Does your organization
have a content marketing
strategy?
36% say they have a
documented strategy
Percentage of UK Marketers
Who Have a Content Marketing Strategy
Last year, we asked marketers for the first time
Yes, and it is documented 36%
whether or not they had a documented content
marketing strategy. The high percentage who
Yes, but it is not documented 51%
said no (49%) left us wondering whether some
had a strategy but simply had not taken the
No 11%
time to document it. So this year we worded
the question differently and discovered that
51% have a verbal-only strategy. The 36%
who have documented their strategy are
more effective in nearly all aspects of content
marketing when compared with those who
have not. Unsure 2%
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Very closely 44%
Somewhat 53%
We rarely use it 3%
Unsure 0%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
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How closely does your
content marketing strategy
guide your organization’s
content marketing efforts?
44% say very closely
Having a strategy is one thing—following
it is another. The more effective the UK
marketer, the more likely it is that his or
her organization follows the strategy very
closely (65% of the most effective follow their
strategy very closely).
Percentage of UK Marketers
Who Say Strategy Guides Efforts

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Yes, and it functions independently as its own unit 18%
Yes, and it works horizontally across the organization silos 27%
No, but planning to have one 23%
No, and no plans to have one that I know of 31%
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Does your organization
have a dedicated content
marketing group?
45% say yes
This is a new question on our annual survey.
The most effective marketers are more likely to
have a dedicated group (66%) when compared
with the total sample (45%). The same is true
for those who have a documented content
marketing strategy (68%).
Percentage of UK Marketers Who
Have a Dedicated Content Marketing Group

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Which area in your
organization is accountable
for content marketing?
It often depends on
company size
In small UK companies (10-99 employees),
content marketers are more likely to report
to the owner/C-level. In enterprise companies
(1,000+ employees), content marketing is
more likely to be part of the demand-gen
marketing group.
Areas Accountable for
UK Content Marketing
Owner/C-level
Demand Gen Marketing
Product Marketing
Social Team/Social CRM
PR/Corporate Communications
Information Technology
Other
No One, Unsure, or No Answer
26%
18%
5%
14%
14%
2%
10%
11%

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GOALS & METRICS
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How important is each
of the following content
marketing goals to your
organization?
More focus on engagement,
leads, and sales this year
Note: Percentages shown represent marketers who
rated each goal a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale where
5 = “Very Important” and 1 = “Not at all Important.”
UK marketers cited each of these goals more
frequently than they did last year. Some of the
biggest increases were for sales (+29%), lead
generation (+21%), and engagement (+17%).
The greatest increase, however, was for lead
nurturing. Last year, 30% cited it as a goal,
compared with 85% this year.
Customer evangelism was a new option on the
survey this year.
Organizational Goals for
Engagement
Lead Nurturing
Lead Generation
Brand Awareness
Sales
Customer Retention/Loyalty
Upsell/Cross-sell
Customer Evangelism
91%
85%
84%
83%
77%
73%
57%
56%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

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Which metrics does your
organization use to assess
content marketing success?
61% say website traffic
Note: Fewer than 30% cited the following
metrics: Benchmark Lift of Company Awareness
(26%), Customer Renewal Rates (21%),
Benchmark Lift of Product/Service Awareness
(19%), and Cost Savings (8%).
Regardless of how effective they are at content
marketing, UK marketers cite website traffic
as the metric they use most often to gauge
content marketing success. Website traffic
topped this list last year as well.
GOALS & METRICS
Metrics for UK
Content Marketing Success
Website Traffic
Higher Conversion Rates
Sales
Sales Lead Quality
SEO Ranking
Time Spent on Website
Inbound Links
Subscriber Growth
Qualitative Feedback from Customers
Sales Lead Quantity
61%
47%
44%
41%
40%
40%
33%
33%
32%
31%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

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How successful is your
organization at tracking
the ROI of its content
marketing program?
28% say they are successful
As these percentages show, tracking ROI can
be a challenge. Having a documented content
marketing strategy helps, though, as 46% of those
who possess one are successful in this area,
compared with the 28% average for the total
sample.
GOALS & METRICS
How UK Marketers Rate
Their Organization’s Success
at Tracking ROI
Very Successful 7%
21%
34%
21%
Not At All Successful 5%
We Do Not Track 11%
0 10 20 30 40 50
5
4
3
2
1

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Compared with one year
ago, how much content is
your organization creating?
78% are creating more
Last year, 76% said they were creating more
content.
CONTENT CREATION & DISTRIBUTION
Change in UK Content Creation
(Over Last 12 Months)
Significantly More
More
Same Amount
Less
Unsure
32%
1%
3%
46%
18%

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How many different
audiences does your
organization target
with separate content
marketing strategies?
The average number is 4
In general, the larger the UK organization,
the more audiences it targets. Enterprise
companies (1,000+ employees) target an
average of 5.
Number of Audiences
that UK Marketers Target
8%
3%
20%
48%
11%
10%
0 10 20 30 40 50
10+
7-10
4-6
2-3
1
Unsure

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Which content marketing
tactics does your
organization use?
eNewsletters had the
biggest increase this year
Average Number Used: 12
Note: Fewer than 50% said they use the following
tactics: Branded Content Tools (46%), Microsites (46%),
Research Reports (45%), eBooks (42%), Webinars (41%),
Print Magazines (36%), Books (34%), Digital Magazines
(33%), Mobile Apps (32%), Print Newsletters (25%), Games/
Gamification (23%), Virtual Conferences (23%), and
Podcasts (22%).
UK marketers, in total, use an average of 12 content
marketing tactics, compared with 14 last year. The most
effective and those who have a documented content
marketing strategy use an average of 14.
The percentages shown on the chart are similar to last
year’s. The biggest increase was with eNewsletters (82%
last year vs. 88% this year). The biggest decrease is with
online presentations (57% last year vs. 50% this year).
Illlustrations/photos was a new option on the survey this year.
UK Content Marketing Tactic Usage
Social Media Content – other than blogs
eNewsletters
Blogs
Articles on Your Website
Case Studies
Videos
In-person Events
Illustrations/Photos
Infographics
Online Presentations
White Papers
89%
88%
85%
82%
80%
73%
72%
63%
61%
50%
50%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

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How effective are the
following tactics that
you use?
72% say in-person events
are effective
These are the 10 tactics that UK marketers find
most effective. Once again this year, marketers
said in-person events are the most effective
tactic.
UK marketers rated only one of these tactics
as more effective than they did last year: blogs
(67% vs. 63% last year).
Confidence in the other tactics decreased
slightly.
Infographics is new to the top 10 effective list
this year.
Effectiveness Ratings
for UK Tactics
72%
67%
64%
63%
60%
58%
57%
57%
56%
55%
In-person Events
Blogs
Social Media Content – other than blogs
Case Studies
Webinars
eNewsletters
Articles on Your Website
Videos
White Papers
Infographics
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

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Which social media
platforms does your
organization use to
distribute content?
96% use LinkedIn
Note: Fewer than 25% said they use the following
platforms: Instagram (24%), Vimeo (24%),
StumbleUpon (18%), Flickr (17%), Vine (15%),
Foursquare (11%), Tumblr (11%), and SnapChat (6%).
As with last year, UK marketers use an average
of 6 social media platforms.
Compared with last year, the biggest increases
in usage are LinkedIn (96% vs. 85%) and
Google+ (68% vs. 55%). Usage of Twitter
has remained the same. Usage of the other
platforms has increased or decreased slightly.
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
Google+
YouTube
Pinterest
SlideShare
Social Media Platform Usage
96%
89%
69%
68%
68%
37%
36%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

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social media platforms
that you use?
75% say Twitter is effective
These are the 7 social media platforms that UK
marketers find most effective.
Twitter has replaced LinkedIn as the social
media platform that UK marketers say is most
effective. Last year, 61% said Twitter was
effective (compared with 75% this year) and
66% said LinkedIn was effective (compared
with 61% this year).
The biggest decrease in confidence was with
Google+ (29% last year vs. 19% this year).
Effectiveness ratings for the other social media
platforms shown here are similar to last year.
Effectiveness Ratings for
UK Social Media Platforms
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
SlideShare
Facebook
Pinterest
Google+
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
75%
61%
50%
37%
29%
24%
19%

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How often does your
organization publish new
content that supports
its content marketing
program?
42% say daily or multiple
times per week
The most effective UK marketers publish
new content even more frequently than the
percentages shown here (63% of the most
effective UK marketers publish new content
daily or multiple times per week).
How Often UK Marketers
Publish New Content
Daily
Multiple Times per Week
Weekly
Multiple Times per Month
Monthly
Less than Once per Month
Unsure
15%
27%
7%
16%
13%
20%
2%

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Which paid advertising
methods do you use to
promote/distribute
content?
Search engine marketing (SEM)
and print or other offline
promotion are cited most often
This was a new question on the survey this
year. The most effective UK marketers use
almost all of these paid methods more
frequently when compared with the total
sample. The exceptions are SEM and print or
other offline promotion, which they all use at
about the same rate.
In addition, there is a correlation between
company size and the number of paid methods
used. For example, small companies (10-99
employees) use an average of 2 paid methods,
whereas enterprise companies (1,000+
employees) use an average of 5.
UK Paid Advertising Usage
54%
54%
48%
38%
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Print or Other Offline Promotion
Social Ads (e.g., LinkedIn ads)
Traditional Online Banner Ads
Promoted Posts (e.g., promoted Tweets)
Native Advertising
Content Discovery Tools
34%
31%
18%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

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paid advertising methods
that you use to distribute
content?
SEM, social ads, and
promoted posts are considered
the most effective
Note: Percentages shown represent marketers who
rated each method a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale where
5 = “Very Effective” and 1 = “Not at all Effective.”
Search engine marketing (SEM) is not only the
paid method that UK marketers use most often to
promote content, it’s also one of the methods they
say is most effective.
Effectiveness Ratings for
UK Paid Advertising Methods
46%
44%
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Social Ads (e.g., LinkedIn ads)
Promoted Posts (e.g., promoted Tweets)
Content Discovery Tools
Print or Other Offline Promotion
Traditional Online Banner Ads
Native Advertising
44%
35%
34%
23%
20%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

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Approximately what
percentage of your
organization’s total
marketing budget (not
including staff) is spent
on content marketing?
The average is 26%
Last year, UK marketers spent an average of
31% of their budget on content marketing.
The most effective UK marketers and those
who have a documented content marketing
strategy spend more (33% and 40%
respectively) when compared with the
total sample.
BUDGETS & SPENDING
Percentage of Total Marketing Budget
Spent on UK Content Marketing
1%
5%
12%
7%
100%
75-99%
50-74%
25-49%
10-24%
1-9%
0%
Unsure
20%
28%
5%
22%
0 10 20 30 40 50

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How do you expect your
organization’s content
marketing budget to
change in the next 12
months?
64% say they will increase
spending
Last year, 56% of UK marketers said they
would increase spending vs. 64% this year.
BUDGETS & SPENDING
UK Content Marketing Spending
(Over Next 12 Months)
Significantly Increase 13%
Increase
Remain the Same
Decrease 1%
51%
26%
Unsure 8%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60

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With regard to content
marketing, how challenged
are you with each of the
following?
51% say producing engaging
content is a challenge
UK marketers are more challenged this year than
last in every area shown here except for lack of buy-in
(22% last year). Technology-related challenges
is new to the list this year, and producing content
consistently has replaced producing enough content.
Finding trained content marketing professionals (14%
last year vs. 27% this year) and measuring content
effectiveness (28% last year vs. 40% this year)
increased the most.
CHALLENGES & INITIATIVES
Challenges that UK Marketers Face
51%
46%
46%
40%
34%
29%
Producing Engaging Content
Producing Content Consistently
Lack of Budget
Measuring Content Effectiveness
Producing a Variety of Content
Technology-related Challenges
Gaps in Knowledge and Skills of Internal Team
Finding Trained Content Marketing Professionals
Lack of Integration Across Marketing
Lack of Buy-in/Vision from Higher-Ups
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
27%
27%
26%
18%

Which content marketing initiatives are you working on?
A high percentage are focused on creating visual content and creating more engaging content.
New this year, we presented marketers with a list of 28 initiatives. We asked them to select one of three options for each:
working on now, plan to begin working on within 12 months, and not a priority.
UK marketers are working on an average of 14 initiatives, and plan to begin working on 8 more, on average, over the next
12 months.
The highest percentages of UK marketers are presently working on:
 Creating visual content: 70%
 Creating more engaging/higher-quality content: 69%
 Better converting visitors on your website: 65%
 Organizing content on your website: 65%
 Better understanding of your audience: 63%
As for which they plan to begin working on within 12 months, the highest percentages selected:
 Better mobile strategy: 39%
 Leveraging user- or fan-based generated content: 35%
 Measuring content marketing ROI: 35%
 Content personalization: 34%
 Creating a channel plan for social media: 33%
The initiatives appearing on the following pages are the 10 that received the highest combined percentages of “working on
now” and “plan to begin working on within 12 months.”
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Creating More
Engaging/Higher-Quality Content
Creating
Visual Content
Creating a
Greater Variety of Content
6% 8%
69% 31% 60% 19% 70%
Now Within 12 Months Not a Priority No Answer
22%
6%
3% 3% 3%
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Better Converting
Visitors on Website
Optimizing
Content
Better Understanding
of Audience
10% 10%
65% 25% 63% 28% 60%
Now Within 12 Months Not a Priority No Answer
23%
9%
3% 2% 2%
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Better Understanding of What
Content is Effective—and What Isn’t
Measuring
Content Marketing ROI
Organizing Content
on Website
11% 14%
60% 22% 65% 48%
35%
Now Within 12 Months
Not a Priority No Answer
11%
27%
2%
Tying Content to Business Goals
61%
14%
22%
3%
2% 3%
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COMPARISON CHART
Documented vs. Verbal-Only
Content Marketing Strategy Verbal
 Considers organization to be effective at content marketing.............................................................................................. 71%................... 33%
 Content marketing strategy very closely guides efforts....................................................................................................... 78%................... 21%
 Has a dedicated content marketing group........................................................................................................................... 68%................... 38%
 Is successful at tracking ROI.................................................................................................................................................. 51%................... 18%
 Average number of tactics used.............................................................................................................................................. 14.......................10
 Average number of social media platforms used.................................................................................................................... 7.........................5
 Publishes new content daily or multiple times per week .................................................................................................... 57%................... 38%
 Percentage of total budget allocated to content marketing................................................................................................ 40%................... 20%
 Challenged with producing engaging content..................................................................................................................... 29%................... 62%
 Challenged with lack of budget............................................................................................................................................. 22%................... 57%
 Average number of initiatives working on now...................................................................................................................... 17.......................12
 Average number of initiatives planning to begin working on within 12 months................................................................... 7.........................9
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Documented
Strategy
Strategy
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DEMOGRAPHICS
Content Marketing in the UK 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends is produced by Content Marketing Institute in partnership with the DMA UK and
sponsored by Axonn Media.
The fifth annual content marketing survey, from which the results of this third annual UK report were generated, was mailed electronically to a sample
of marketers using lists from Content Marketing Institute, MarketingProfs, Brightcove, Blackbaud, the Direct Marketing Association UK (DMA), the
Business Marketing Association (BMA), EnVeritas Group (EVG), The Association for Data-driven Marketing & Advertising (ADMA), Industry Week, New
Equipment Digest, WTWH Media, and Corporate Financial Group.
A total of 5,167 recipients from around the globe—representing a full range of industries, functional areas, and company sizes—responded to the annual
survey throughout July and August 2014. This report presents the findings from the 134 respondents who said they were for-profit marketers in the UK
(99 B2B, 10 B2C, and 25 both B2B+B2C). Additional reports based on the annual survey are available at www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/research.
Special thanks to MarketingProfs for their assistance with the annual survey and the B2B North America and B2C North America reports.
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Size of UK Company
(by Employees)
UK Industry Classification UK Job Title/Function
28%
8%
16%
31% 40%
24%
12%
37%
18%
13%
14%
31%
6%
10% 11%
■ Advertising/Communications/
Marketing/PR
■ Technology
■ Publishing/Media
■ Consulting
■ Banking/Accounting/Financial
■ Other
■ Marketing/Advertising/
Communications/PR Management
■ Corporate Management/Owner
■ Content Creation/Management
■ Marketing Administration/Support
■ Other
■ Micro (Fewer than 10 Employees)
■ Small (10-99 Employees)
■ Midsize (100-999 Employees)
■ Large (1,000+ Employees)
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ABOUT
About Content Marketing Institute
Content Marketing Institute (CMI) is the leading global content marketing education and training organization. CMI teaches enterprise brands
how to attract and retain customers through compelling, multi-channel storytelling. CMI’s Content Marketing World event, the largest content
marketing-focused event, is held every September, and Content Marketing Sydney, every March. CMI also produces the quarterly magazine
Chief Content Officer, and provides strategic consulting and content marketing research for some of the best-known brands in the world. CMI
is a 2012, 2013, and 2014 Inc. 500 company. View all CMI research at www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/research. Learn how to create a
documented content marketing strategy, a key component for improving overall content marketing effectiveness.
About the DMA UK
The DMA UK aims to connect, enable, and inspire its members to drive business growth through one-to-one to millions communications.
The DMA helps brands, agencies, and suppliers put the customer at the heart of their one-to-one communications through providing
opportunities, advice, support, networks and tools to ensure that each business can grow prosperously to be enjoyed, prized, and ultimately
sustained by their markets.
About Axonn Media
Axonn Media’s mission is to simplify content marketing for everyone. We work with clients across Europe, adding value through our content
strategy, creation, and technology services (and never-ending supply of great ideas and commitment to results!).
Our core values drive us:
1. If better is possible, good is not enough
2. Take personal responsibility for success
3. Embrace and drive creative ideas
4. Make good things happen
5. Love to learn and share
6. Make it FUN!
We’ve loved working with CMI on this report and seeing how the UK content marketing industry continues to develop.
Listen to our CEO Fergus Parker and CMI founder Joe Pulizzi discuss the report in more detail in a webinar: http://www.axonn.co.uk/webinars.
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Content Marketing in the UK 2015: Benchmarks, Budgets & Trends by CMA and DMA sponsored by Axonn