The Bellwether Report found that the rate of increase on internet-related marketing spend, which stood at 23.1% for the last quarter of the year, was ahead of all the other types of marketing in the survey.
It also showed that the number of companies allocating more than 10% of their total marketing spend online has risen to a new survey high of 10.5%. However, the survey also found that just under one in four companies are not using the internet at all for marketing.
John Owen, chairman of the IPA digital marketing group and planning partner at the agency Dare, said: "Digital marketing's effectiveness has created a momentum that continues to gather pace. More clients than ever before are investing upwards of 10% in the medium.
"Over a fifth are now investing upwards of 5%. The medium now commands a 3.5% share of the total marketing pie and, in the fourth quarter, it grew faster than at any time since the first quarter."
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