Survey Shows Email is Top Digital Marketing Tool

More popular than search, display or online video.

In an article published in eMarketer, major marketers worldwide use email in their campaigns, according to The McKinsey Quarterly.

In a survey of 311 marketing executives, McKinsey found that 83% used email, ahead of display ads, paid search and online video.

McKinsey also asked about the future of online marketing. By 2010, respondents generally thought the Web would be part of the first two stages of the buyer decision-making process — product awareness and information gathering — for a majority of all consumers.

Over one-half of respondents said they planned to increase their email spending in the next three years, but plans to increase spending could mean that e-mail would lose some budget to paid search and other tactics.