Millennials Like Traditional - Not Just New - Media

Millennials (those now age 18-24) have an affinity for traditional media, such as print publications and television - and almost 6 in 10 (58%) say they use magazines to find out about what’s cool and hip, such as clothes, cars and music, according to a study released earlier this year.

Moreover, almost three-quarters (71%) of Millennials say they enjoy reading print magazines even though they know they could find most of the same information online.

Deloitte’s “2007 State of the Media Democracy” survey, conducted by Harrison Group, also found that when Millennials find something they like, they broadcast it, and do so effectively:

• The Millennials surveyed maintain large IM and texting lists that average 37 people, compared with the average of 17 for all those surveyed.
• And when they find a particular television show or website that they enjoy, they tell an average of 18 people, compared with only 10 people for all age groups.

According to the survey, word of mouth is the most common reason for Millennials to visit a website, followed by an ad on TV; almost half (48%) visit TV websites in a typical week.

The survey confirmed the growing popularity of user-generated content; Millennials in the survey spend about equal amounts of time consuming user-generated content and commercially produced content online:

• A large proportion of Millennials (58%) create personal content in a typical week, and an even greater proportion (71%) regularly consume it.
• But user-generated content is not just for kids - there is a “trickle up” effect, and the older generations are creating and consuming personal content as well: over a third of Matures (current age 61-75) - 36% - report that they regularly consume user-generated content.

Among the highlights of the survey’s findings:

User-Generated Content

• 40% of all survey respondents are making their own entertainment (editing movies, music and photos):
  • 25% of Matures
  • 56% of all Millennials
• More than one in 10 Millennials are actively uploading their own videos on the Internet.
• 51% of all survey respondents are watching/reading content created by others.
• 71% of Millennials, 56% of Xers; Boomers/Mature participation is less, but noteworthy.
• 53% of Millennials would download more videos if connection speeds were faster.
• One-third of online content viewing is done on user-generated sites: Almost ¼ for Matures, ½ for Millennials.

Traditional Media

• Favorite and promising new television shows beat the web as the most frequent media conversation topics for all generations: 52% of Xers are visiting television show Internet sites
• Printed magazines are an integral part of every generation’s life:
  • 72% enjoy reading magazines over finding the same information online
  • 58% of Millennials agree magazines help them learn about what’s “in.”

Advertising Insights

• 64% tend to pay greater attention to print ads in magazines or newspapers than advertising on the Internet.
• More than one-in-four would pay for online content vs. being exposed to ads.
• Search engines and word of mouth are the most effective means for driving Web site traffic - 85% of Xers are influenced by someone’s recommendation.
• 87% of respondents continually visit the same websites.
• Generation Xers are a little more responsive than others to advertising

Future Products

• 64% want to easily connect their television to the Internet for viewing videos and downloading content to their television.
• 60% want the ability to move their content to any device they own without any problems.
• 57% want an entertainment and communication device that lets them do everything.
• 49% want a computer or similar device that will be the center of their household media experience.

About the Survey: The online survey was commissioned by Deloitte & Touche USA LLP and conducted by Harrison Group, an independent research company, between February 23 and March 6, 2007. The survey polled 2,211 online consumers between the ages of 13 and 75.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/millennials-like-traditional-not-just-new-media-1117/

Americans More Connected and Quite Ad-Tolerant

Within the span of eight months, the use of online and mobile devices for entertainment has rocketed among online US consumers, according to the second edition of the “State of Media Democracy” new-media survey from Deloitte & Touche, reports Reuters.

About 38% of consumers are now watching TV shows online, compared with 23% eight months ago, according to the study.

And some 54% said they use social-networking sites, chat rooms or message board; in addition, 45% said they have a profile on a social-networking site.

The report of the online survey of 2,081 US consumers, conducted Oct. 25-31, is slated for release in Jan. 2008. Deloitte apparently provided the findings early to The Hollywood Reporter, which reported some results today:

Among the study’s findings related to advertising…

• 85% cited TV advertising as among the types having the most impact on purchase behavior; 65% cited online ads; and 63% pointed to magazine ads.
• However, 59% said they pay greater attention to magazine ads - and 55% cited newspaper ads - than any type of internet advertising.
• Online, search ads were cited as the most effective (78%), followed by interactive ads (62%), banner ads (60%), pre-rolls (31%) and post-rolls (19%).
• 67% said they would be willing to be exposed to more online ads in return for free content that’s valuable.
• However, 37% said they would rather pay for online content than be exposed to advertisements.
• 65% said they consider any type of internet ad more intrusive than newspaper and magazine ads.

Among the findings related to cell phones…

• Some 36% now use their mobile phones as entertainment devices, compared with 24% eight months ago (study conducted Feb. 23 to March 6)  - an increase of 50%.
• Among millenials (consumers 13-24-years-old), the proportion is 62%, up from 46% in the previous study.
• Among Gen Xers (25-41-year-olds), the proportion increased to 47% from 29%.
• About 20% of US consumers said they view video content on cell phones daily or almost daily.

Among the findings related to user-generated content…

• 45% of US consumers said they are creating online content (websites, music, videos and blogs) for others.
• Some 54% said they are making their own entertainment content through editing photos, videos or music.
• 69% said they are watching or listening to consumer-generated content.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/americans-more-connected-and-quite-ad-tolerant-2887/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

FTC to Behavioral Targeters: 'Police Yourselves (with Our Help)!'

The FTC has issued "self-regulating" guidelines for use by practitioners of behavioral advertising.

As behavioral advertising becomes more common (and more of a concern), the loose guidelines are intended to encourage responsibility among marketers and to ward off federal regulation.

Major components of the proposal include:

• Making visitors aware that their information is being collected
• Assuring them their information will be kept safe, and defining the ways in which it will be used
• Providing them with the ability to opt out

The terms of info-gleaning should be explained to visitors in clear, simple language.

These guidelines were designed to be broad enough to be adopted by a wide range of practitioners.

As is generally the case with young technology, marketers are admonished to tread carefully in the realm of behavioral targeting; abuse of these guidelines may yield tougher constraints from on high.

Six in Ten Broadband Users Watch Online Video Weekly, Up 36% YOY

Online video consumption is growing rapidly among adult broadband internet users - most now watch video weekly - according to a  recently released report, “Broadband Content and Services 2007,” from Horowitz Associates (via Micro Persuasion).

Six out of ten (61%) high-speed internet users watch or download online video content at least once a week, and 86% do so monthly, compared with the respectively 45% and 71% who reported doing so in 2006.

News and user-generated/non-professional content are the genres reported viewed most often, followed by movie previews/trailers, music videos, and previews/segments of TV shows:

• Weekly viewing of full episodes of television shows doubled from last year, with 16% of high-speed internet users now watching TV online on a weekly basis.
• Some 36% watch news video at least weekly, up from 22% in 2006.
• Non-professional videos are watched by 30% in 2007 - double the 15% in 2006.

Television Online

NBC and ABC are the networks that internet users mention most frequently for watching online TV content, with Grey’s Anatomy the most-mentioned TV program viewed online.

While consumption of broadband video has grown, the study shows that television is still the preferred platform for traditional TV content:

• Some 13% of internet users who watch TV shows online say they watch them directly online, and not on regular TV.
• The vast majority (70%) of internet users who watch TV online say do so because they missed the episode on TV.
• About two out of ten (18%) of these respondents say they watch TV shows online to watch them a second time (after having watched them on TV).
• 20% say they watch TV shows online just when they happen to find them or when someone else tells them about the shows.

Video on Portable Devices

Penetration of video-enabled handheld devices is also on the rise - and along with it the viewing of video content on those devices:

• Over one quarter (27%) of internet users have a cell phone, iPod/MP3 player, or PDA with video capability, and an additional 23% do not have this capability but are interested in getting it.
• Among those with video-enabled handheld devices, one-third (35%) watch video on their devices at least weekly and 62% do so at least monthly.
• That translates to 18% of internet users overall who watch video content on a handheld device at least monthly - up from 8% just one year ago.

“More and better broadband content - particularly entertainment content in video form - is bringing more consumers to the platform, either on their computers or on their handheld devices,” said Howard Horowitz, president of Horowitz Associates, Inc. “This, in turn, creates an even greater demand for - and expectations regarding - broadband video.”

“Importantly, the data suggest that broadband video is not cannibalistic to linear video, but rather an enhancement to the consumers’ ‘traditional’ TV experience,” he added.

About the study: “Broadband Content and Services” (see prospectus [pdf]) examines current levels of subscription, attitudes toward, and satisfaction with dial-up and high speed internet services, including cable modem, DSL, Verizon FiOS Internet, and wireless unternet services, as well as internet usage for information, communications and entertainment. Also covered is penetration of video-capable and internet-capable handheld devices, and viewing of video content and internet usage on handheld devices.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/six-in-ten-broadband-users-watch-online-video-weekly-up-36-yoy-2760/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

‘Customer Affinity’ New Measure of B2B Marketing Effectiveness

Despite an increased focus on customer engagement, most B2B technology companies continue to fall far short of meeting customer expectations and commitments, according to the results of a new research initiative by the Chief Marketing Officers Council.

Most technology vendors badly overestimate their effectiveness in addressing customer needs, while a majority of customers feel ignored and trapped in vendor relationships that are marred by broken promises, according to the research.

The “Profitability from Customer Affinity” study, which uncovers major disconnects between vendors and customers, argues for a new measure of marketing performance, called customer affinity, which incorporates critical elements of the customer lifecycle experience.

Some 99% of customers surveyed said they would either scale back or terminate relationships with vendors who fail to build customer trust. Moreover, less than 7% of customers said their vendors are extremely well-aligned with their needs.

Among key findings of the new study:

• 56% of vendors perceive themselves as being extremely customer-centric, but only 12% of customers agree.

• An overwhelming majority of vendors - 85% - are convinced that they are getting better at responding to customer needs, but 45% of customers disagree.
• More than half of customers surveyed described their relationships with vendors as “dependent and captive,” “struggling for common ground,” or “combative and adversarial.” When asked to describe their relationships with the channel, 45% of customers surveyed evaluated their channel relationships similarly.

• More than 30% of customer respondents said they would terminate relationships with companies that fail to gain their trust; 62% would scale back existing engagements; and 7% would no longer consider the vendor for future business.
• Co-innovation with customers is vital to building customer affinity: Nearly six out of 10 customers say co-innovation is extremely or very important, with another 30% agreeing that it is at least somewhat important. Customer responses indicated that collaborative, two-way conversations - followed by continuous improvement - build customer affinity.

• Vendors seem to understand that channel partners truly are partners in their success, and that going to market effectively with the channel is critical to maximizing their value to customers. Yet, only 8% of vendor marketing respondents said they do an extremely good job of teaming with the channel to build stronger customer affinity.

The survey’s findings indicate that customer affinity - not brand awareness - is the most accurate predictor of customers’ purchasing intentions and decisions, the CMO Council found:

• Customers say brand awareness and existing relationships - often thought to be leading factors in purchasing decisions - have little bearing on their decision to do business with a vendor or channel partner.

• Instead, customer decisions are influenced by competence, quality service and support, and a sense of true commitment from vendors -yet vendors continue to direct budget toward initiatives that are ineffective at building customer affinity, the study argues.

“Marketing has a critical responsibility to define and build customer-centric businesses,” said Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. “Based on the findings of this study, we have a long way to go. To be more successful, marketers should adopt new performance measurements, like Customer Affinity, that are actually tied to the customer experience. We believe traditional brand metrics, taken by themselves, may actually reinforce ineffective behavior and practices.”

The report coincides with the CMO Council’s release of the first annual Customer Affinity Index of IT brands, led this year by Network Appliance, followed by Juniper Networks, InterSystems and Polycom:

About the study: The study was conducted by the CMO Council and is based on surveys and interviews with more than 1,000 leading B2B technology buyers, IT marketing and customer relationship executives, and their channel partners. The Customer Affinity Index as developed in conjunction with Dr. V. Kumar, professor and executive director of the ING Center for Financial Services at the University of Connecticut, and Dr. Girish Ramani, assistant professor of Marketing at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/cmo-council-customer-affinity-new-measure-of-b2b-marketing-effectiveness-2765/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

Top 10 US Social-Network and Blog Site Rankings Issued for Nov.

MySpace.com yet again tops the rankings of top US social-networking sites, with nearly 57.4 million unique visitors in Nov., down from October’s 58.8 million, according to custom lists of top US social-networking sites and blogs compiled by Nielsen Online.

Google’s Blogger remains atop blog site rankings with 33.6 million visitors, down from October’s 34.1 million.

Ranked second among social-networking sites, Facebook increased the number of visitors to nearly 22.0 million, up from October’s 19.5 million - and up 89% vs. Nov. 2006, whereas MySpace visitors increased just 7% year over year.

(Compare with Oct. social-network data.)

Among blog sites, top-ranked Blogger increased its visitors a significant 49% from the year-earlier period, accounting for 33.6 million visitors in Nov., albeit that was down from this October’s 34.1 million.

More impressively, however, WordPress, which maintained the No. 2 rank it first achieved in Oct., grew 310% from the year-earlier period. In Nov. it accounted for 12.0 million visitors, up from 11.4 million in Oct. - and up from 2.9 million last year.

Six Apart Type Pad, now No. 3, also grew - 22% from last year - to more than 11.0 million in Nov., up from nearly 10.6 million visitors in Oct.

(See this table from Oct. to make month-to-month comparisons for blog sites.)

http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/top-10-us-social-network-and-blog-site-rankings-issued-for-nov-2750/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

Nielsen Issues US Top-10 Lists for 2007

The Nielsen Company released a yearend look at US trends in 2007, issuing top 10 media and consumer spending lists, including the following topics: television, the internet, advertisers, mobile, consumer purchasing trends, videogames, movies, DVDs, music and books.

Among the top 10 lists issued:

Top 10 Advertisers - by US Spending on Traditional Media - 2007:

Top 10 TV Programs - Regularly Scheduled - 2007:

Top 10 “Timeshifted” Primetime TV Programs - 2007:

Top 10 Programs: Product Placement, Broadcast Network TV - 2007:

Top 10 Websites in the US:

Top 10 TV Programs “Buzzed” About Online:

Top 10 Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Purchased by US Homes:

Top 10 Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Categories Sold in US Retail Stores:

Top 10 Internet Brands Accessed via a Mobile Device:

Top 10 PC Game Titles in the US - April-Nov 2007:

Top 10 Box Office - All Theatrical - through Dec 9, 2007:

Top US Markets for Avid Moviegoers:

For other lists issued, see the Nielsen release.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/nielsen-issues-us-top-10-lists-for-2007-2700/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

Nielsen: Young Viewers More Likely to Watch Shows Using Non-traditional Media

John Consoli
DECEMBER 04, 2007 -

Younger viewers are two-and-a-half times more likely than older viewers to be use DVRs, the Internet, or MP3 players to watch missed espisodes of TV shows, according to a study by the Nielsen Company.
The study, conducted by Nielsen in October with more than 1,500 adults at the CBS Television City research facility in Las Vegas, found 56 percent of 18-34-year-olds use new non-traditional technologies to catch up on missed shows, compared to 21 percent of viewers over 55.
The study also found that 55 percent of viewers over 55 would either watch a rerun and wait for a rerun to air, compared to 24 percent of 18-34-year-olds.
Only 1 percent of both demos would watch a rerun via video-on-demand.
The study also showed that nearly 80 percent of DVR owners use it to stay current with the shows they watch. And among those who went to the Internet to watch streaming episodes,
most tended to watch them on the networks’ own Web sites.
The most popular network website among those polled was ABC.com, where 50 percent of all viewers said they watch episodes on, compared to 41 percent for NBC.com, 37 percent for CBS.com and 24 percent for Fox.com. Only 8 percent said they watch episodes on CWTV.com.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003680941

TV Campaign Is Culture Shift For Starbucks

By STEPHANIE KANG, JANET ADAMY and SUZANNE VRANICA
November 17, 2007; Page A1

With more than 10,000 U.S. stores, and products in shops around the globe, Starbucks Corp. has built one of the world's best-known brands. Now, for the first time, it's rolling that brand out on national TV. The decision is a cultural turnabout for the coffee giant, which built itself into a global chain by harnessing word-of-mouth buzz. Starbucks's chairman, Howard Schultz, wrote a decade ago: "[B]y its very nature, national advertising fuels fears about ubiquity."

Today, competitors McDonald's Corp. and Dunkin' Donuts, which never had any qualms about hawking their wares on the tube, are stepping up their coffee marketing. And Starbucks, after years of phenomenal success, is struggling to lure customers as the economy softens.

The first batch of ads, which aired last night, is timed for the holidays and uses "animatics," a crisper, less-cartoonish form of animation. In one TV spot, a bearded skier and reindeer are stuck on a ski lift, and the skier offers the reindeer a cup of coffee.

The holiday spots are just the beginning. The Portland headquarters of the advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy, which Starbucks has hired to oversee the ad efforts, is already at work on post-holiday ad campaigns for the company.

The move could backfire. Despite the ubiquity of its stores, Starbucks still likes to think of itself as a collection of thousands of corner cafes that sponsor the local zoo and have baristas who know their customers' favorite drinks. Executives at Starbucks often say they built the chain by word of mouth and are proud of the fact that they made limited use of traditional media, long before "stealth" and "viral" marketing became the rage.

Some other big brands continue to turn up their nose at national TV ad campaigns. Google Inc. uses under-the-radar marketing online rather than TV ads.

The anti-advertising mood at Starbucks began to shift over the past year. One major development was the recent departure of Anne Saunders, Starbucks's senior vice president for global brand strategy, who was a firm believer in the power of local marketing. Another factor is the relationship between Mr. Schultz, the Starbucks chairman, and Wieden + Kennedy co-founder Dan Wieden. Mr. Wieden visits Mr. Schultz several times a year, says a person familiar with the matter.

Starbucks has flirted with a national brand campaign before but pulled back, creating some tension between the chain and Wieden + Kennedy, say people familiar with the matter. The independent agency helped make Nike Inc.'s "Just Do It" ad slogan a cultural phenomenon and also created long-running campaigns for ESPN that featured humorous takes on the culture of the sports-TV network.

The Starbucks holiday spots lean toward the warm and fuzzy, but Wieden + Kennedy has also been developing an edgier idea for about six months. The proposed ads would show Americans discussing issues of importance to them and depict Starbucks coffee shops as the living room of the national conversation.

In a pitch meeting, the agency showed a short reel of consumers talking about the war in Iraq and health care, says one person familiar with the matter. The agency also showed images of what people were talking about, such as a picture of pop singer Britney Spears the day she shaved her head and a picture of a U.S. soldier.

The idea of the campaign was to create buzz without directly pushing Starbucks products, this person says. However, the company decided its first TV spot for its brand should be the less-controversial holiday commercials. It is unclear if the other campaign will air or if it will be replaced by a campaign that focuses on specific Starbucks products, says this person.

A Starbucks spokesman said that campaign is one of many ideas that they've looked at. He added that the decision to go with the feel-good holiday ads was part of an integrated marketing campaign taking place in stores and not an either-or between it and the more edgy campaign. He also said Starbucks remains committed to local sponsorships.

Starbucks has about 10,500 locations in the U.S., or about 3,000 more than it did two years ago, and has expanded into new cities and towns. In an interview Thursday, Chief Executive Jim Donald said Starbucks is getting into TV advertising because "as we grow our stores, we're trying to reach out to this broader audience that maybe [has] not had a chance to experience Starbucks."

Mr. Donald said the campaign is "very appropriate for the brand" and added that "it's done in a way that" is "very Starbucks."

The average number of transactions in Starbucks U.S. stores fell for the first time during the most recent quarter, and the company on Thursday cut its earnings and sales-growth projections for the coming year.

Executives blame the disappointing results on weak consumer spending, pointing to other retailers that have also struggled to grow sales and earnings. Mr. Donald said the slowdown in customer traffic isn't the reason Starbucks decided to start its television campaign.

Starbucks has placed ads in national print publications, used billboards and run radio spots. As far back as the mid-1990s, the company dabbled in television advertisements in some markets. More recently, it has run some TV ads for bottled beverages, but they weren't considered ads for the stores generally. Some Wall Street analysts have long believed that Starbucks should get into television in a bigger way.

McDonald's plans to introduce a line of espresso drinks in thousands of U.S. stores next year in what the company calls the biggest new menu initiative since it started selling breakfast in the 1970s. McDonald's spent roughly $60 million on ads for its coffee line last year, according to a person familiar with the fast-food chain.

Dunkin' Donuts, a unit of Dunkin' Brands Inc., spent $116.2 million on ads in the U.S. last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence, a New York research firm that tracks ad spending. Starbucks's ad outlays last year were $37.9 million. The company spent nothing on network television and depended largely on magazine and newspaper ads, according to TNS.

"There is a huge battle of the coffee brands and everyone is encroaching on Starbucks's turf," says Dean Crutchfield of Wolff Olins, a branding firm owned by Omnicom Group. "The competitiveness is diluting and commoditizing the entire coffee category, so it's critical that Starbucks maintains its message in the marketplace."

Mr. Schultz conceded in a leaked internal memo earlier this year that Starbucks was in danger of losing customers to competitors. "We need to recognize that the category is evolving," Mr. Schultz told analysts on a conference call Thursday. "And as the leader, we have an opportunity to make sure that our voice is heard through the all-important medium of television."

When Mr. Schultz began expanding the company beyond its hometown of Seattle in the late 1980s, he would line up a team of what he called local ambassadors, including mail-order customers and friends of Starbucks employees. Starbucks would send them two free drink coupons and tell them to share one with a friend. The company held tastings with chefs of well-regarded restaurants and local food critics to introduce them to its coffee.

Even when Starbucks began expanding nationwide, it continued to rely heavily on local marketing by sponsoring events like a free day at the Phoenix Zoo. That helped counter any impressions that Starbucks was turning into a faceless giant.

"In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart," Mr. Schultz wrote in a 1997 book, "Pour Your Heart Into It," when the company was considerably smaller. "Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the strength of the human spirit, not an ad campaign."

Write to Stephanie Kang at stephanie.kang@wsj.com, Janet Adamy at janet.adamy@wsj.com and Suzanne Vranica at suzanne.vranica@wsj.com

Streaming Video Becoming a Habit At All Age Levels

Advertising.com, Inc., in their Bi-Annual Online VideoStudy, comparing the first half of 2007 with the last half of 2006, reports that 62 percent of survey respondents are viewing video online and are comprised mostly of those ages 35 and older viewing news clips. Analyzed by age group, 31 percent of 18 to 34 year olds watch streaming video, while 69 percent of consumers ages 35 and older view streaming video online.

Approximately 83 percent of consumers surveyed indicat­ed that their online video usage in 2007 has either stayed the same or increased since 2006. More specifically, 36 percent of consumers have increased their consumption of online video, with an even breakdown between men (36 percent) and women (37 percent).

The majority of consumers are streaming online video at home rather than work or school, with 45 percent of streaming activity taking place in the evening. 95% stream at home; 4% at work; 1% at school or university.

More than 62 percent of consumers said they are most likely to stream news clips, with movie trailers and music videos next in line. Compared to the second half of 2006, consumers are streaming fewer music videos and streaming more news clips, user-gen­erated videos and sports clips. However, these consumption behaviors vary dramatically by age.

Streaming Selections (% of respondents)

All

18-34 year olds

1st Half '07

2nd Half '06

1st Half '07

2nd Half '06

News clips

62%

49%

44%

34%

Movie trailers

38

33

40

35

Music videos

36

47

54

65

TV shows

33

26

51

33

User generated videos

29

21

42

26

Movies

25

20

32

19

Sports clips

21

11

14

10

Other

8

9

Source: Advertising.com, September 2007

Overall, 42 percent of consumers have forwarded a vid­eo clip to a friend. Consumers who view content more than once a week also forward more clips, with 55 percent forward­ing clips vs. 34 percent and 20 percent for those who view content once a week and once a month. Women (47 percent) forward more clips than men (36 percent).

Online Video Activity by Age Group (% of respondents)

18-34 Age Group

35 + Age Group

1st Half '07

2nd Half '06

1st Half '07

2nd Half '06

Forwarded video clip to friend

47%

49%

39%

31%

Created video content to post online

15

16

2

2

Missed a TV episode and watched online

63

57

46

42

Says Online video usage cuts into normal TV time

27

20

20

17

Source: Advertising.com, September 2007

Other highlights of the study include:

• 80% of consumers say that online video usage does not cut into their TV time.
• 29% of men say online video usage cuts into TV
• 16% of women say online video usage cuts into TV
• 12% of those who view content once a month claim that video usage cuts into their TV time
• 94% of consumers indi­cate that they would prefer to view ads than pay a fee to watch video content online.
• 63% of consumers would prefer online vid­eo ads that are shorter than TV ads
• 65% of consumers say they watch online video ads through to completion
• 72% of consumers who view streaming content more than once a week view video ads through to completion
• Of those who view content only once a month, 49% view advertising through to completion.
• Consumers are 8% more likely to view 15-second spots to completion than 30-second spots.
• The 30-second pre-roll format slightly outperforms the 5- and 15-second ads when measured in terms of click-through rate.

In conclusion, the report summarizes by noting that consumers continue to incorporate streaming video into the online experience, but there remains a difference, however, among older and younger consumers.

Older consumers using streaming video in order to gain more information, which can be seen by their preference for online news clips, while younger consumers are streaming content for entertainment purposes, such as viewing movies, TV shows and user-generated videos online.

Consumers between the ages of 18 and 34, says the report, continue to assimilate streaming content more into their everyday media consumption habits. Sixty-nine percent of their online video streaming occurs more than once a week, while 47 percent of those ages 35 and older view streaming video multiple times a week

Please visit here to view the complete report and charts of the BiAnnual Video Study from Advertising.com

10 Curious Things about Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are more likely than the general adult population to vote, play the lottery, remodel their home or live in a household that owns/leases at least three vehicles, according to Mediamark Research Inc.’s BoomerView.

Asked about particular behaviors in the last 12 months, more than one-half of Boomers (55%) report that they voted in a federal, state or local election; almost one-third (30.8%) undertook a home remodeling project; and 41% say they played the lottery - making them respectively 22%, 21% and 18% more likely than the general adult population to have engaged in these activities.

Moreover, perhaps driven in part by Boomers’ relatively high incomes and wealth, 35.6% report they live in a household that owns or leases 3+ vehicles.

BoomerView is a set of generational segments in the “Survey of the American Consumer” that provides a detailed view of the Boomer market as well as the generations that precede and follow it.

Boomers are an optimistic group, according to the study: Almost 4 in 10 Boomers (39.1%) say they believe that they and their household will be better off financially one year from now. Moreover, close to 90% say they believe that they themselves will be financially “better off” or “the same” one year from now.

However, according to BoomerView data, a fairly large portion of Boomers are potentially unprotected financially should they face serious medical issues: Almost one-quarter (23.3%) report that they have no personal medical, hospital or accident insurance.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/mediamark-10-curious-things-about-baby-boomers-1957/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

Online TV Viewing Doubles, Replaces News as Top Web Content

The number of Americans viewing entire television episodes/shows on the internet has doubled from a year ago, and now close to 16% of American households who use the internet watch television broadcasts online, according to the “Consumer Internet Barometer” report by The Conference Board and TNS.

Nearly 73% of online households use the internet for entertainment purposes on a daily basis and an additional 15% search for entertainment several times a week, according to the data.

“Although online television viewing is still not a widespread phenomenon, the proportion of users has increased since 2006 and is likely to increase over time, given consumers’ love for entertainment,” said Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.

According to TNS and the Conference Board:

• Approximately half of online consumers sometimes watch their favorite shows online.
• Watching TV online has now replaced news as the most widely viewed content online.
• The top two reasons for watching TV on internet:
  • More than three out of five online TV viewers cite personal convenience as the major reason for watching TV broadcasts online.
  • More than one-third cite a wish to avoid watching television commercials (other reasons cited include portability and a preference for computer viewing).
• The proportion of internet users who catch up online on missed TV content has increased to 42% from 30% a year ago.
• Four out of every five online viewers say that watching TV programs online has not changed their television viewing habits, but a small percentage claim that their traditional television viewing has decreased.
• The top methods for viewing broadcasts online are streaming and free downloading: About two-thirds of viewers stream online content, more than 40% download content for free.

“Over the next few years, the growing popularity of viewing TV episodes/shows online is going to have a huge impact on the way brands and advertisers communicate with viewers,” said Shari Morwood, EVP of technology, telecommunications and media at TNS. “If advertisers can effectively leverage the online video platform, we should see much more interactivity and emotional connection between brands and the online TV viewing audience.”

“On a broader scale, we will also see changes in viewing preferences, including TV on mobile devices, as media, telecom, and technology increasingly converge,” she added.

About the data: The Consumer Internet Barometer is based on a quarterly survey of 10,000 households. A unique sample is surveyed each quarter. Return rates average 70%, ensuring representative data. Data is also weighted to reflect the latest US household demographic information. The latest survey was conducted during the third quarter of 2007.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/online-tv-viewing-doubles-replaces-news-as-top-web-content-2026/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

Marketers Plan to Increase Social Media Spending, ROI Not Yet a Concern

The vast majority of marketers who already use social media are bullish on social-media spending, with nearly 9 in 10 saying they plan to “increase” or “increase significantly” their spending, according to a recent survey by social-media application provider Prospero Technologies.

Prospero’s “2007 Social Media Survey” found that 30% of online marketers who use social media plan to spend significantly more on social-media applications in 2008, while an additional 58% also plan to increase spending, though not “significantly.”

Some 59% of respondents reported that social media performance in 2007 met or exceeded their marketing objectives.

Survey participants were from leading brand organizations from a variety of industries, including Media, Education, Financial Services, Health, and Sports and Gaming.

Asked about social media return on investment (ROI), 35% reported positive ROI and 41% said that ROI was “unknown.”

Responses to questions about how web marketers measure ROI reveal that direct sales revenue is not a top measure for determining social media success:

• Respondents said that total number of site visitors (17%) was the most important criterion for assessing social media performance.
• Total number of pageviews (15%) and number of subscribes/community members (15%) were next, followed closely by length of visit on the site (14%).
• Some 12% cited ad revenue and 9% said sponsorships as important measures of success.

“The majority of respondents see engagement with their brand as the most important measure of social media success, while more concrete ROI measures such as sales and new business leads carry less weight,” said Rusty Williams, cofounder and vice-president of Prospero Technologies.

• Regarding the types of social media applications in use:

• • Blogs (13%) and discussion boards (12%) topped the list of those in use in 2007.
  • Regarding 2008 plans, discussion boards and blogs again top the list (10% each), followed by ratings and reviews (8%) and profiles/social networking applications (8%)
• Regarding objectives for using widgets, the top uses respondents cited:
  • Helping audiences promote conversations/interest on social media sites such as MySpace and Facebook (32%)
  • Improvingthe speed and efficiency for implementing technologies on their site (29%) as the top uses.
• Regarding current social-media challenges:
  • Integrating community-generated content with the rest of the website and understanding best practices for new/evolving technologies were rated the top challenges.
  • Closely behind was keeping up with new social media technology advances.
• Regarding OpenID and Microformat initiatives:
  • 14% said they fully support open standards.
  • 22% reported that they would support open standards provided there were no security issues.
  • 43% said that they had not yet reviewed open standard initiatives.

About the study: Prospero’s 2007 Social Media survey was conducted online in September 2007, gathering responses from over 50 businesses currently using social media applications, including organizations from the following industries: Broadcast Media, eCommerce and eCRM, Education, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Online Media, Print Media - Magazines and Books, Print Media - Newspapers, Professional Associations, Sports and Gaming.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/topics/signs-of-whats-to-come/marketers-plan-to-increase-social-media-spending-roi-not-yet-a-concern-2030/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

‘Search Engine Fatigue’ Drives Consumers to Distraction during Car Searches

Some 72% of US online searchers have experienced “search engine fatigue” - that is, unable to find the information they need, they grow impatient or frustrated  - and of those, three of four leave their computer without finding the info, according to a new Kelton Research survey commissioned by Autobytel Inc.

Nearly 40% of Americans describe finding the “right and relevant” car-related information on the big search engines - such as Google and Yahoo - as overwhelming and time-consuming, according to the survey:

Moreover, nearly a quarter of those surveyed said they have actually put off purchasing a car because they found the overall car-buying process too overwhelming or frustrating.

That’s a significant number, considering that  90% of all car buyers use the internet when shopping for a vehicle.

Among other findings of the survey:

• 65.4% of Americans say they’ve spent two or more hours in a single sitting searching for specific information on search engines.
• 75.4% have searched for automotive or car-related information online.
• Consumers search for a wide variety of car-related information, not just new vehicles:

• 86% of those seeking specific car-related information agreed that big search engines have limitations or drawbacks.
• Online automotive researchers are also frustrated with third-party sites, such as Autobytel.com, Edmunds.com and KBB.com:
  • Two-thirds (67%) said these third-party sites are “mostly similar,” without offering “substantial differences.”
  • 36% of consumers indicated they have to visit other websites to make sure they get the comparative information they need to make decisions.

• Asked to choose from a “wish list” of what they would like from an automotive website, the largest block of consumers (37%) said they would like to have access to the internet’s full range of automotive information in order to receive the most relevant information they are seeking.
• 85% wish there were a one-stop shop for everything related to cars, including purchase, service and accessories.
• 75% of say they plan to consult numerous professional and consumer reviews in their next car purchase decision.

Autobytel released the study simultaneously with the official launch of MyRide.com, an automotive vertical search engine.

About the study: The “State of Search” study was conducted May 2007 and involved 1001 nationally representative Americans age 18 and older who have internet access. An Autobytel white paper, “The State of Search,” discusses the results of the survey in more detail.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/search-engine-fatigue-drives-consumers-to-distraction-during-car-searches-2009/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

Top 50 Web Rankings for August

The top 10 online properties, in terms of visitors, remained unchanged in August, albeit the back-to-school season gave a boost to education sites and retail sports/outdoor sites gained traffic in anticipation of fall sports, according to the comScore Media Metrix monthly analysis of activity at top US online properties.

Among other trends noted: August traffic increased to lotto/sweepstakes sites as lottery jackpots reached near record highs, and humor sites gained on the strength of Comedy Central’s spike in traffic.

The data released by comScore:

Top 50 Properties

Among the highlights:

• Yahoo Sites topped the ranking with more than 135 million visitors.
• CBS Corporation experienced a 16% gain, lifting it six spots to number 24.
• Comcast Corporation also experienced a sizable jump, moving up seven positions to number 26 in the ranking with more than 25 million visitors.
• United Online gained four position, drawing more than 26 million unique visitors in August.

Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking

 

Among the highlights:

• Advertising.com remained atop the Ad Focus Ranking, reaching 89% of the more than 181 million Americans online.
• Specific Media and Google both moved up within the top 10, to numbers six and seven, respectively.
• Adconian media group jumped seven spots to number 21, reaching 43% of the US online population, a 7% increase from July.
• Interclick also continued its climb in the rankings, gaining four spots to number 18.
• Amazon.com and Walmart.com entered the ranking in August at positions 37 and 43, respectively.

High-Growth Sites/Categories

High-Growth Catagories:

• The humor category grew 8% in August, reaching more than 30 million Americans. The increase was largely propelled by gains at Comedy Central from its “Indecision2008″ coverage.
• National Lampoon Humor Network led the category with 5.6 million visitors.
• Comedy Central followed with nearly 5 million visitors (up 105%) and Jokeroo Entertainment Inc. with nearly 3 million visitors (up 37%).

High-Growth Sites: 

• Education sites
  • The training and education category grew 15% to more than 12 million visitors, making it the top-gaining category for the month.
  • College resource site Fastweb led the category with 2.5 million visitors (up 13%), followed by The College Board with nearly 1.9 million visitors (up 12%) and Nellnet, Inc., an education planning and financing company, with 1.4 million visitors (up 11%).
  • The education information category increased 8% to more than 63 million visitors, as Dictionary.com Sites led the category with 11.8 million visitors, followed by Answers.com (9.3 million visitors) and Pearson Education (8.6 million visitors).
• Retail sports/outdoors sites
  • With the beginning of fall sports and football season, traffic to retail sports/outdoors sites increased 7%, to more than 29 million visitors.
  • Foot Locker Sites experienced a 15% gain to 4.6 million visitors to lead the category, followed by eBay Sports US with 4 million visitors and DicksSportingGoods.com with 2.6 million visitors.
  • NFL Internet Group, which includes the official NFL team sites, surged 78% to more than 14 million visitors, making it one of top-gaining properties in August.
• Lottery sites
  • Multi-state lotteries Mega Millions and Powerball both reached massive jackpots in August causing lotto/sweepstakes sites to rise 8% to more than 31 million visitors for the month.
  • Powerball.com surged to 2.3 million visitors (up 123%).
  • Megamillions.com traffic swelled to 1.1 million (up 100%).

http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/top-50-web-rankings-for-august-issued-education-retail-sports-sites-gain-1681/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

 

Network Radio Reaches 233 Million Listeners per Week

Arbitron today released preliminary findings from RADAR 94, according to which 96% of adults age 18-49 with a college degree and an annual household income of $50,000 or above tune into radio over the course of a week.

RADAR Network affiliates (which account for over 50% of all radio stations) reach 85% of that coveted demo - as well as 85% of adults 25-54 in households with a college degree and an annual household income of $75,000 or above, Arbitron said.

While the trend in radio has fewer youth listening, network radio reaches the ad-elusive and media multitasker group of teens 12-17: Whereas overall RADAR networks reach 82% of all radio listeners, they reach 85% of listeners ages 12-17, according to Arbitron.

Among other preliminary findings released:

Radio Is Stable

• Radio reaches 233 million listeners over the course of the week, according to the RADAR 94 September 2007 Radio Listening Estimates. That’s consistent from a year ago. The 7,200+ RADAR Network Affiliated stations reach 82% of all radio listeners.
• RADAR Network affiliates have consistent delivery, reaching key young and adult demographics that advertisers target:
  • They reach 84% of adults 18-34 and adults 25-54.
  • They also reach 84% of Adults 18-49.

Radio is Appealing

The diversity of formats in radio attracts advertiser-coveted demographics such as Black Non-Hispanic as well as Hispanic persons:

• 94% of Black Non-Hispanic persons and 95% of Hispanic persons, age 12 and older, tune in to radio over the course of a week.
• Radio reaches 96% of Black Non-Hispanics and Hispanics age 25-54 over the course of a week.

Radio Reaches Educated, Affluent

Radio reaches 94% of college grads age 18+, and 96% of adults 18-49 with a college degree and an annual income of $75,000 or more tune into radio over the course of a week.

'Old Media' Still Resonate

How do different generations use media? That was the question of a study released last week by Deloitte & Touche's Technology, Media and Telecommunica-
tions practice.

Drawn from a Harrison Group survey of 2,200 consumers 13 to 75 years old, the topline findings of the "State of the Media Democracy" offered hope for traditional media and yielded some fresh insights into new-media trends, according to Ed Moran, director of product innovation in Deloitte's New York office.

For example, consistent across all generational segments—millennials (13-24), Gen Xers (25-41), boomers, (42-60) and matures (61-75)—nearly three-quarters of consumers said they enjoy magazines even though they acknowledge being able to read the same publications online.

Despite their widespread embrace of new media platforms and a "trickle up" effect on older consumers, that tendency was even prevalent (71 percent) among the millennials, Moran said.
Moran said he was also impressed with "the real popularity of user generated content," particularly in terms of its widespread demand. The survey shows that over half (51 percent) of all Internet users consume user generated content across generations.

Even so, what Moran called the "resilience of old media" remains a prominent feature of the landscape. "And one of the main activities online is going to a television Web site," he said. The survey found that 46 percent of consumers do that regularly, including over half (52 percent) of all Gen Xers.
"Television is still a core activity," Moran said. "Even though we see the expected amounts of online, text messaging, cellphone use [and] games—consumers are doing more things, but still watching television. It is always on."

For advertisers, this could be "both troubling and reassuring," he said, predicting that "participatory TV," with some level of interactivity, will become more prevalent, especially as the millennial generation grows up.

Moran said there was also an unexpected result regarding digital video recording devices such as TiVo. "It's the Xers and boomers that rely on DVRs for television use," he said. "But the number-one use for DVR is not commercial skipping."

In fact, the time shifting and the "season ticket" functions (the latter refers to being able to record an entire season of a show) rate highest, he said. The ability to fast-forward through commercials came in third. (The study showed that women like DVRs slightly more than men, and that men are more likely to watch commercials than women.)

Other findings:
--More than a quarter of consumers would pay for online content in exchange for not being exposed to advertising.
--Overall there was more receptivity to print ads than to Internet advertising.
--60 percent of consumers visit 10 or more Web sites a week.
--More than a quarter of leading edge millennials (26 percent) plan to shop online in the coming year.
--Search engines were rivaled by word-of-mouth in driving Internet traffic. Although search was No. 1 at 84 percent, 82 percent of respondents visited a Web site because of a personal recommendation. Ads on television (65 percent), Web site ads (55 percent) and e-mail campaigns (54 percent) followed in influence.

By Gregory Solman

http://www.adweek.com/aw/national/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003625365

Traps to Avoid When Joining a New Company

The biggest mistakes I see executives make when hired in from the outside are (1) trying to recreate the organizations they left behind and (2) overestimating their change mandates. Both set up vicious cycles that can end in outright derailment for the new leader. And you can usually see these problems start during the recruiting process.

The temptation to try to clone a business model or system that you’ve had success with elsewhere is great. You understand it deeply, struggled hard to make it work, and achieved great things. In fact, your success in making something wonderful happen at your old company is likely a major factor in why your new company wanted to hire you. During the recruiting process you may have been explicitly encouraged to “bring the great ideas you have to us.” So it’s natural to want to try and replicate your previous success.

But efforts to do so all too often go astray. Sometimes it’s because the mode or system simply doesn’t translate well to the new organization. Sometimes it’s because the new organization has a powerful immune system that rejects outside ideas (and people) even though they would in fact contribute to improved performance. But regardless of whether the new leader fails to customize or socialize her ideas, the result is the same. The effort misfires and the new leader loses credibility.

Leaders who overestimate their change mandates during onboarding suffer similar fates, albeit for different reasons. During the recruiting process they are either led to believe, or fool themselves into believing, that they have more scope to make change happen than they do. They enter their new organizations thinking they have a mandate to do significant surgery, only to find out that the support is not there. They fail to check and recheck with key stakeholders, not realizing that understandings that are reached during the hiring process are unlikely to be the full story, and may in fact reflect some wishful thinking on both sides.

Here, too, the outcome is predictably bad. The new leader creates a lot of discomfort. Key stakeholders begin to complain about, organize in opposition to, and even actively plot the downfall of the interloper. If the onboarded executive is lucky enough to have a boss who is willing to run interference or to counsel on how better to move things forward, the outcome need not be dire. But absent that sort of support, the new leader becomes radioactive.

In both these cases of going overboard during onboarding, new leaders fail to recognize an eternal truth: recruiting is like romance and employment is like marriage. During the courtship rituals of recruiting, the hiring company is trying to secure great talent and so has incentives to cast the situation in the most attractive possible light. They need not, and usually do not, engage in outright misrepresentation. It’s more like the puffery and wishful thinking that happens during any mating dance. So it’s inevitable that some of the understanding reached during the courtship phase of joining a new company will not hold up in the cold hard light of cohabitation.

Have you seen leaders coming in from the outside get themselves into trouble in these or other ways? Please share your experiences with other readers.

By Michael Watkins on July 30, 2007 11:22 AM

Harvard Business Online

Search and Display Work Well Together?

Using both sponsored search ads and display advertising produces a better conversion rate than using either channel by itself, according to a study from digital marketing firm Atlas, a subsidiary of aQuantive.

The report, issued last year, studied a month’s worth of online advertising by 11 marketers, analyzing more than 10.8 million impressions and 2.5 million paid clicks from 1.8 million users.

Atlas Institute analyst Esco Strong told an audience at ad;tech Chicago that the study grew out of a realization that search and display advertising are mostly treated separately by advertisers, with very little cross-platform measurement to see how they interact, Strong told the audience. “But the question of interaction of these two channels has recently become a hot topic among our clients, who want to know the right mix between the two media,” he said. “We wanted to find out if there really is the synergy that a lot of folks have assumed, and to find out if it’s quantifiable.”

The resulting report took a look at 11 Atlas clients who used both display online advertising and pay-per-click search ads during the month of April 2006. Those clients’ online conversions were calculated, and ad users/viewers were classified into three groups: those who clicked on display ads from an advertiser but not search ads; those who clicked on search ads but had no display views or clicks for the same advertiser; and those who clicked on sponsored search listings and also had one or more display impressions or clicks from the same advertiser. That last group was large enough to be statistically significant: 44% of users studied both clicked on a PPC ad and saw or clicked on a display ad from the same marketer.

Atlas found that on average, users who clicked on a search ad without seeing a display ad converted more than three times as often as those who saw a display ad but didn’t click on a PPC ad. But the group that was exposed to both display and search advertising converted at a rate four times higher than the display-only group and 22% higher than those who saw search ads alone.

He added that lift values differed greatly for the advertisers involved in the study, indicating that synergies for the search and display channels should be measured by each specific advertiser for each campaign. Of the 11 advertisers tracked in a range of unspecified industries, four saw a much greater conversion increase among two-channel users compared to search-only users than the 22% average. In fact, one saw conversions run more than 60% higher using both search and display ads, Strong said; another saw a lift of more than 40%.

“On the other hand, three advertisers saw essentially zero lift using both search and display ads,” he said. These flat results could be explained by ineffective buys in either the search or display channels; on the other hand, the advertisers could have been spending on offline marketing campaigns that raised conversion rates both for search-only and search-and-display users, cancelling out any lift effects.

“The synergistic effect has been theorized for a long time, but it’s never been quantified,” Strong said. “This research tells us that it definitely exists.”

Advertisers who carefully measure the effects of their own online cross-media ad efforts may gain a strategic advantage by optimizing that synergy, he said. By supplementing search marketing with well-chosen display ads on sites and against terms that are appropriate for their offerings, marketers may get a lift in conversions that enables them in turn to spend more on search marketing, bidding against more expensive keywords or bidding their search positions higher without trashing their return on investment.

The report also found a strong correlation between display ad frequency and higher conversions among advertisers who used both media. Users who saw three or more display impressions in conjunction with at least one search-ad click had better conversion rates and click-to-conversion rates than those who only saw one or two display ads.

But advertisers must watch for a point of diminishing returns at which increased display frequency leads to wasted ad spending, the report pointed out.

And the report’s conclusions about synergy underline the importance of tracking all media centrally Strong said, to be able to compare their effects on a level basis. “If you’re using different silos or different technologies to track search and display ads, this type of analysis is impossible,” he said. “Tracking all online media centrally is the starting point for opening up the strategic opportunities of both search and display.”

http://directmag.com/searchline/8-01-07-Display-SEM/

Communications Spend to Reach $1 Trillion in ‘08; Internet to Surpass All Ad Segments in 2011

Total communications spending increased 6.8% to a record $885.2 billion in 2006, having expanded at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% from 2001 to 2006 (and exceeding GDP growth in both periods), according to exclusive data released today by Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS).

Communications spending growth accelerated in 2006, outpacing nominal GDP for the fourth time in five years, while consumer media usage declined following two consecutive years of decelerating growth, according to the VSS Communications Industry Forecast 2007-2011.

The VSS forecast tracks, analyzes and forecasts spending, usage and trends in all 19 segments and more than 100 sub-segments of the US media industry, including alternative advertising and marketing data licensed exclusively from PQ Media.

According to the VSS data and forecast:

• The communications industry is on pace to grow 6.4% in 2007 and post a CAGR of 6.7% in the 2006-2011 period, making it the third-fastest-growing sector of the US economy.
• Communications spending will top $1 trillion for the first time in 2008, with growth driven by strong gains in the alternative media and institutional end-user sectors.
• Total communications spending is forecast reach $1.222 trillion in 2011.
• In what would be a watershed moment in communications history, internet advertising - including pure-play websites and digital extensions of traditional media - will replace newspapers as the largest ad medium in 2011.
• For the first time since 1997, consumers spent less time with media in 2006 than they did the previous year:
  • Media usage per person declined 0.5% to 3,530 hours, due to changing consumer behaviors and digital media efficiencies.
  • The drop in consumer media usage was driven by the continued migration of consumers to digital alternatives for news, information and entertainment, which require less time investment than their traditional media counterparts.
  • Consumer media usage to stabilize in 2007 and increase at a CAGR of 0.5% from 2006 to 2011, compared with 0.8% in the previous five-year period.
• Consumers are also migrating away from advertising-supported media, such as broadcast TV and newspapers, to consumer-supported platforms, such as cable TV and videogames:
  • Time spent with consumer-supported media grew at a CAGR of 19.8% from 2001 to 2006
  • Time spent with ad-supported media declined 6.3% in that period.
• However, media usage by institutional end-users grew 3.2%, to 260 hours per employee, in 2006, according to the first-ever analysis of business and government media usage included in this year’s VSS Forecast:
  • Institutional media usage climbed at a CAGR of 3.3% in the 2001-2006 period, driven by the continued integration and increased use of online and digital platforms to enhance business performance and workflow.
  • Institutional media usage will continue to grow from 2007 to 2011, although growth will decelerate slightly as the forecast period progresses.
• The fastest-growing media segments in the 2001-2006 period were outsourced custom publishing, branded entertainment; cable, satellite and RBOC TV services; and pure-play internet and mobile services, all of which posted double-digit growth.

“We are in the midst of a major shift in the media landscape that is being fueled by changes in technology, end-user behaviors and the response by brand marketers and communications companies,” said James Rutherfurd, EVP and managing director at VSS.

“We expect these shifts to continue over the next five years, as time and place shifting accelerate while consumers and businesses utilize more digital media alternatives, strengthening the new media pull model at the expense of the traditional media push model.”

More data from the VSS forecast (via MediaPost):

• Internet ad spending will reach $61.98 billion in 2011, when it will surpass newspapers to become the largest ad medium.
• Consumers spent, on average, 1,631 hours in 2006 with consumer-supported media (e.g., web, videogames), up 19.8% from 2001.
• Time spent with ad-supported media (e.g., broadcast television, magazines) was down 6.3% from 2001, averaging 1,899 hours per person in 2006.
• Ad spending on pure-play internet sites totaled $15.1 billion in 2006; spending is forecast to grow at a 2006-2011 CAGR of 18.2%, reaching $34.78 billion in 2011.
• Ad spend on traditional-media internet sites will growth at a 25.79% CAGR, growing from $8.585 billion in 2006 to $27.2 billion in 2011.

• National internet advertising - search, display, sponsorships, etc. - is projected to grow from $16.9 billion in 2006 to $38.9 billion in 2011, or a CAGR of 18.2%.

• Blog, podcast and RSS ad spend is projected to reach $1.14 billion in 2011, from $0.78 billion in 2006 - accounting for the highest CAGR: 70.9%.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/communications-spend-to-reach-1-trillion-in-08-internet-to-surpass-all-ad-segments-in-2011-1206/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

The Power of Negative Keywords, eight (8) tips

Many people wait too long before really delving into Negative Keyword research for their Google AdWords campaigns. This is a mistake!

Negative Keywords have more of an impact than most people realize.

Not only do Negative Keywords save you money by minimizing clicks from visitors who really are not interested in your product or service, but they increase your Clickthrough Rate (CTR) and Quality Score! This decrease in 'bad' impression will automatically give you higher quality clicks that can have a real impact on your conversion rate.

Negative Keywords can be hard to find, but the search is worth it.

Here are eight tips and tricks to getting the most out of your Negative Keyword research:

1. Run a keyword report for all keywords within your account. Sort the report by impressions and focus your research on the keywords receiving the highest impressions.

2. Use the Negative Keyword tab of the Google Keyword Tool

3. Use a keyword database tools such as Trellian or Wordtracker.

4. See what comes up organically for your high impression keywords. Maybe there is a restaurant or a famous book name with your keyword in it? Add it as a negative!

5. Use a thesaurus! Since Google's Broad Match can match you on "highly relevant keywords, including synonyms and related phrases" it's important to research these synonyms.

6. Do some industry research. You may find many people are looking for courses or books on your product and not your actual product.

7. If you have Google Analytics or any other Web Analytics reports study your organic keyword reports for new negatives.

8. Install the handy Keyword Tracking Script Michael Harrison (my coworker :-) ) created. It allows you to see exactly what people are typing in before they see your PPC ad within Google Analytics. He has installed this on many of my client accounts, and now I can't live without it!

So Negative Keyword research can be tedious and tiring. You may only find 5 new negatives and might think your hard labor wasn't worth it. Rest assured, your efforts will pay off!

I have seen impressions decrease by 30% within a client account and conversions conversely increase by 2% with just a handful of negatives.

By Page Christenbury, PPC Specialist

ROI Revolution

Newspaper Online Ad Expenditures Up 19%, Print Ads Down 10%

Advertising expenditures for newspaper websites increased 19.3%, to $796 million, in the second quarter compared with the same period a year ago, according to preliminary estimates from the Newspaper Association of America (NAA).

The increase is the 13th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth for online newspaper advertising since NAA started reporting online ad spending in 2004.

Newspaper website advertising in 2Q07 accounted for 7% of total newspaper ad spending, compared with 5.4% in 2Q06, according to the NAA data.

“Newspaper websites continue to have a positive impact on the industry’s revenue stream during a time of transition,” said NAA President and CEO John F. Sturm. “As newspapers transform themselves into multimedia platforms offering a diverse portfolio of print and digital products, publishers continue to deliver…content that makes newspapers the most trusted source of news and information.”

“Advertisers know that newspaper websites are ideal for reaching online users with the most attractive demographics,” he added.

Total advertising expenditures at newspaper companies were $11.3 billion in the second quarter - an 8.6% decrease from 2Q06. Spending for print ads in newspapers totaled $10.5 billion, down 10.2% from the year-earlier period.

Sturm chalked up the print-ad revenue decreases to “cyclical swings in the US economy, as well as structural changes in the businesses of major advertisers.”

Among the major print components in the second quarter, classified advertising fell 16.4% to $3.4 billion. Retail declined 6.4% to $5.2 billion, and national was down 7.9%, coming in at $1.8 billion.

Within the classified print category in the second quarter, real estate advertising fell 20.7% to $966.8 million. Recruitment dropped 18.5% to $995.4 million. Automotive was down 19.3% to $756.3 million. All other classifieds were down 1.8% to $716.1 million.

Quarterly and annual ad spending numbers in their entirety are available at the NAA site.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/print/newspaper-online-ad-expenditures-up-19-print-ads-down-10-1471/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink

Online Video Viewers Prefer News Clips, Shorter Ads

Most consumers - 62% - are viewing video online, and contrary to popular opinion those viewers are not just young adults viewing user-generated videos, according to a bi-annual video study from AOL’s Advertising.com, which sought to analyze online video viewing and response to video advertising.

Most (69%) of those viewing videos are age 35 or older, with a preference for viewing news clips online, the study found.

“The internet is still seen first and foremost as an information resource. With news clips remaining the most popular type of streamed content, video viewing habits reflect that status,” said Lynda Clarizio, president of Advertising.com.

“But it will be interesting to see how viewership evolves with the rise of social networks, more diverse video content, increased interactive gaming, and other such advances in online entertainment. I think we may see a shift in usage toward recreation; these latest figures certainly hint at that trend.”

As for video advertisements, consumers accept them as part of the video experience - 94% of respondents prefer ads to subscription fees. However, 63% of respondents say shorter ads would make the online video experience more pleasurable.

Shorter spots also deliver higher percent-viewed rates, according to data from the Advertising.com network.

Other key findings from the study:

• More news, user-generated content:
  • In the first half of 2007, 62% of consumers viewed news clips online, followed by movie trailers with 38%.
  • Music videos came in third at 36%, decreasing from 47% in the second half of 2006.

• Tastes differ by age:
  • The 18-34-year-old audience prefers entertainment content such as music videos and TV shows. They also create more online video content than those ages 35 and older.
  • In contrast, the 35 and older audience is more likely to view news.
  • Compared with the previous study, 18-34-year-olds are streaming more movies, TV shows and user-generated videos.
  • Those 35 and older are streaming more sports clips and user-generated videos than previously reported.
• Complementing TV, not replacing it:

• • 51% of survey respondents would watch a television episode online if they missed it on TV.
  • However, 80% of consumers say that online video usage does not cut into their TV time.

About the study: Advertising.com’s research covered the first two quarters of 2007 and incorporated both consumer survey data and video advertising performance data from the Advertising.com video network. The survey was hosted by online market research company InsightExpress.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/online-video-viewers-prefer-news-clips-shorter-ads-1423/?camp=newsletter&src=mc&type=textlink