Marketers are breaking out their checkbooks in an effort to build brand awareness. A just-released study reveals that 56% of marketing professionals worldwide plan to increase their spending on brand awareness over the next 12 months. Meanwhile, another 27% of marketers plan to hold steady on spending for brand building, according to the August study conducted by InsightExpress on behalf of e-Marketer.

Analyzing responses from worldwide readers of eMarketer’s Daily Newsletter and visitors to eMarketer.com, the survey showed that investment in brand awareness will be especially strong in the Latin American and Asia-Pacific regions, with 59% and 60.6% of marketers respectively saying they anticipate spending more on brand-related activities. The nation least likely to see an increase in brand awareness investment was Canada, but even there a majority of marketing professionals (51%) plan to increase their spend.

“Brand awareness was a higher priority for eMarketer’s audience than demand generation, global business expansion efforts, or spending on events – none of which attracted a majority to increase spending,” e-Marketer said. The study found that 42% of marketers plan to invest more in demand generation, while 35% will increase spending on global business expansion. Nearly 27% expect to devote more dollars to events.

“Overall, the findings suggest that digital display spending, a major component of online branding activities, has a rosy future as marketers look to increase awareness in the coming 12 months,” eMarketer reported.