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