BCA

By Allison Kahn

From: World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

Marketers in the US would be willing to diversify their digital strategies if more detailed metrics were made available, according to a report.

Analytics specialist Adometry commissioned insights firm Forrester to survey 150 interactive marketing executives. In all, 55% of the sample expected display budgets to rise in 2011, 34% planned to maintain outlay levels, and 3% anticipated declines in this area. When discussing motivations for using display, 75% mixed branding and direct response, performance- led efforts, which the study suggested constituted a shift in perspectives from the recent past.

The primary drivers behind such a process include the advent of various new formats, from homepage takeovers to in-banner video, making the channel increasingly “rich and immersive”.

Enhanced targeting, based around factors like age and gender, previous purchases, and, lately, social connections, are also exerting an influence.

Lack of results a disincentive

However, the lack of measurable results was serving as a disincentive from boosting expenditure, mentioned by 62% of the panel.

High prices were referenced by 51%, the absence of rigorous audience data scored 43%, and insufficient transparency as to where ads may appear logged 27%.  A further 25% of contributors believed current creative formats are not suitably compelling, while privacy and regulatory concerns registered 11%.

In keeping with these trends, a 55% majority agreed stronger targeting capabilities would help encourage a lift in display spending. More relevant metrics recorded 47%, followed by delivering a “better understanding of what consumers did after they saw the ad”, on 43%.

Cross-channel campaign impact results wanted

Cheaper prices secured 34%, ahead of yielding data about about the audience on 33%, and detailed information about where the ad was viewed, with 29%.  Exactly 25% of respondents wanted insights showing the cross-channel impact of campaigns, for example relating to search, social, mobile and emai

“Advertisers want better ways to measure how their investments will pay off before sinking more dollars into display advertising,” said Paul Pellman, CEO of Adometry. “Improved ad targeting and technologies like cross-channel attribution measurement will play an important role as interest in display advertising continues to grow.”

Nearly 30% of respondents are employing campaign verification tools, confirming ads were delivered as promised.

Adoption still remains at a nascent stage, and skews towards companies spending at least $1m on display per year. In rating their media partners, two-thirds of marketers handed out favourable reports regarding adherence to frequency limits and supplying evidence that the purchased inventory was served and viewed.

Only 36% of message content reached target audience

Figures fell to 48% for proving consumers had engaged with this material, and just 36% for establishing content had reached the target audience. Just 27% assumed equally complimentary positions for media firms’ ability to assess the value of display advertising in relation to the rest of their communications.

Another 18% are utilising attribution analysis systems helping identify which medium has fuelled certain behaviours among customers.  A quarter of participants saw these services as attractive but did not have the required budget, while 24% are investigating this area, and 19% expressed a wish to do so going forward.

“Users do not make decisions in channel silos – a fact that marketers intrinsically understand,” the study said.

“Multichannel attribution tools and services are a necessary part of every marketer’s measurement strategy; however, they often fall low in the priority chain due to lack of time and money.”

Data sourced from Adometry; additional content by Warc staff, 17 June 2011

From: World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

Smartphone use is increasingly influencing US consumers’ media use and shopping habits, a study has indicated.

Digital giant Google and research firm Ipsos OTX MediaCT questioned 5,013 adults who accessed the web via these devices, and found that 93% of the sample used the gadgets at home.

Moreover, 87% did so “on the go”, a figure attaining 77% in stores, 73% in restaurants and 72% at work. A majority (59%) logged on to the mobile web while waiting in line, 48% did so as they ate, 44% during shopping trips and 43% while travelling.

Some 81% of contributors had browsed the mobile Internet

The week before the survey was taken, 81% of contributors said they had browsed the mobile internet, 77% used search engines, 68% used apps and 48% played back video. More broadly, 72% of respondents had engaged in simultaneous media use involving smartphones and other mainstream channels at some point.

This included 33% watching television at the same time as using the wireless web, 29% who went online through a PC, 27% for gaming and 22% for reading print media.

“Mobile search is often prompted by cross media exposure,” said Selina Rennie of Google’s Agency Team. “Over two-thirds of smartphone owners have carried out a search on their smartphone as a result of traditional media.”

Approximately 82% of subscribers researched and read news

When discussing specific activities, 82% of smartphone subscribers employed email services on their phone and 63% visited social networks. Similarly, 82% researched and read news, 75% exploited navigation tools, 65% enjoyed entertainment content, and 45% managed their finances, social life or travel arrangements.

An extra 46% of participants used ecommerce sites, 43% viewed video-sharing portals, 38% visited general consumer websites and 26% official brand platforms.

Turning to shopping, 79% of the smartphone audience used their handsets for commercial purposes. Some 78% had located retailers, compared prices or searched store inventories, and 69% sought out product information, such as by scanning a barcode, watching online video or reading reviews.

Because of smartphone, 76% of users bought goods at bricks & mortar outet

Another 52% contacted a retailer, 40% had sourced coupons, and 28% redeemed virtual discount vouchers. Within the 74% of individuals claiming to have previously made purchases because of using a smartphone, 76% bought goods at a bricks and mortar outlet and 59% did so from a PC.

Additionally, 35% snapped up a product straight from their phone, 27% looked to mobile websites and 22% turned to apps for the same reason. Where people bought goods through a smartphone, the average annual expenditure hit $300, with 48% of relevant consumers buying entertainment items, as electronics and apparel both secured 45%.

Smartphone research leads to purchase in store

Conducting research on a smartphone and then buying in-store remains the most common path to purchase, with 67%, but 9% of respondents had taken the opposite route.

Elsewhere, 23% undertook investigations on a wireless device and then a bricks and mortar store before completing transactions on the web. A further 16% researched and purchased on a phone, with a trip to a store sandwiched in the middle.

Having been asked to describe mobile advertising formats they could recall, 45% of those polled referenced banners and graphical ads, and 43% mentioned executions on a website they had viewed. A 35% share remembered ads embedded in apps, standing at 34% for paid-search listings, 28% for SMS and 21% for video and location-based alternatives.

Smartphone users receptive to mobile ads & half take action

“In terms of advertising, smartphone users are not only noticing mobile ads, they are receptive to them: 82% notice ads on their smartphones, half of which take action,” said Rennie.

Data sourced from Google; additional content by Warc staff, 10 June 2011

From: World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

Google believes it is among a small group of companies most likely to influence the technology sector’s future.

Speaking at AllThingsD’s D9 conference, Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman, suggested this “gang of four” – Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook - currently dominate the category.

“If you look at the industry as a whole, there are four companies which are exploiting platform strategies, I think, very well,” he said. “Each of the companies … has managed to use very modern concepts of computer science and very, very aggressive scaling approaches to get large fairly quickly in the area that they are focused on.”

“We’ve never had four companies growing at the scale those are, in aggregate.”

Schmidt claimed this exclusive club has in common characterise a major shift across the information technology category towards meeting customer needs. “Each of [the companies] is a consumer brand that provides something that you can’t do otherwise,” Schmidt said.

Computer science now solving real consumer problems

“The extraordinary thing that has occurred in the last four or five years is that we can see computer science now solving real consumer problems. What you’re seeing is the death of IT as we know it.”

One organisation absent from Schmidt’s list was Microsoft, an operator he said is no longer leading the “consumer revolution”, a mistake the “gang of four” must avoid.

“The question is fundamentally can each of the companies that I named maintain the … product excellence that’s required as the technology moves forward?”

Key question is can companies maintain product excellence?

While mergers and acquisitions have formed a key part of the tech industry’s history, the financial strength of the new generation of firms means this cannot be considered an option.

“What’s different now is that these are global companies with reach and economics that ten years ago or 20 years ago one company had,” Schmidt said. “More likely is one begins to miss the mark.”

Indeed, such is the inter-connected nature of the digital space that Google has just renewed a tie-up with Apple surrounding maps and search, despite being rivals in segments like mobile.
“We have a partnership with them, and we compete with them,” Schmidt said.

Google users can now rank search results

Google’s recently-unveiled “+1″ tool, enabling web users to rank search results, is also seen by Schmidt as replicating the “Like” function created by Facebook.

“Facebook’s done a number of things that I admire,” Schmidt said. “We’ve tried very hard to partner with Facebook. Traditionally they’ve done deals with Microsoft.”

But Schmidt expressed regret regarding not having leveraged this type of idea at an earlier stage.

“We have missed identity over the years”

“For years I said in the internet we missed something, which was identity,” said Schmidt. “Identity is incredibly useful because in the online world you need to know who you are dealing with.”

“I clearly knew that I had to do something, and I failed to do it … A ceo should take responsibility. I screwed up.”

Google’s latest initiatives include a new mobile payment service and daily deals platform, but efforts to build alliances with music studios around a cloud-based subscription model have failed to gain traction thus far.

Problem facing media and entertainment now is shift from scarcity to ubiquity

Alongside concerns about piracy, the issue here illustrates a wider problem facing the media and entertainment sector – a shift from “scarcity” to “ubiquity”.

“You have to go from a strategy where you … charge a lot for a small number of copies to charging a little, in various other ways, for a large number of copies,” said Schmidt.

“You also have the disintermediation … that is now possible for people bypassing studies and going directly to digital rights.”

Data sourced from AllThingsD/Wall Street Journal/BBC; additional content by Warc staff, 2 June 2011

From: World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

Marketers are focusing on customer retention, digital media and data collection as they attempt to cope with “light speed” changes in the industry, an international survey has revealed. Forbes Insights and Coremetrics surveyed 321 marketing and corporate management executives in the US and UK for the report, finding that many companies are adopting defensive marketing tactics. A majority (52%) listed retaining existing customers as their “top current priority”. Over one third (39%) were dedicating the “largest chunk” of their budgets towards such moves. Attempts to attract new buyers have taken a back seat, with customer acquisition the top priority of 38%. All of the executives questioned for the report worked for companies that generated at least $250m in annual revenues. Over three-quarters (77%) worked for a firm with $1bn-plus revenues. Elsewhere, the study suggested digital is becoming increasingly important to marketers, with 56% of respondents planning to increase their online marketing spend. Only 9% of companies monitoring their campaigns in real time But many companies are yet to take full advantage of the web, as just 9% are monitoring or adjusting their campaigns in real time. Forbes Insights conceded that keeping up with these rapid changes would prove challenging to advertisers. “Marketing’s biggest challenge appears to be presenting a consistent, unified brand across multiple customer touchpoints – on the web, on social media, via mobile devices, and through traditional bricks-and-mortar,” the report added. “Marketing is moving at light speed, but few executives are watching or adjusting their campaigns and content accordingly.” Almost half of the survey’s respondents are planning to increase their spending on business intelligence. Just 8% plan to cut spending in this area. Data now driving decisions The report said: “Data has always had its place in the marketing department, but the numbers are no longer being used to just confirm (or refute) decisions. Instead, data is increasingly driving those decisions.” This chimes with a recent survey from GIA reported on Warc News last week, which found 76% of firms currently have “systematic” marketing intelligence capabilities – up from 63% two years ago. The report also showed that one in three companies currently lacking these capabilities planned to develop them over the next year. Data sourced from Forbes Insights/GIA; additional content by Warc staff, 23 May 2011

From: e-marketer

 For complete data charts and story, go to e-Marketer.com

From: World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

 Media owners including Time Inc, Condé Nast and Hearst Magazines are seeking to exploit the opportunities presented by tablets like the iPad.

Hearst Magazines will begin selling paid-for versions of Esquire, O, the Oprah Magazine, and Popular Mechanics via this device in July, doing so through Apple’s subscription system.

David Carey, president of the company, told the New York Times all the statistics gathered thus far have proved extremely promising.

“While it’s still early days on distribution models, our research has shown that reader engagement levels for digital subscriptions are terrific, with time spent reading at very high levels,” he said.

Jessica Kleiman, vice president, public relations, at Hearst Magazines, equally proposed demand for such tools is growing.

Consumers want to subscribe on the iPad

“The feedback we heard from consumers over and over was that they wanted to be able to subscribe on the iPad,” she said. “So we do feel like it’s an important part of the mix.”

“We want them to be multiple revenue streams. At this point we’re not bundling.”

One possible drawback for content producers is that Apple officially takes 30% of subscriptions completed using the App Store, although Kleiman stated Hearst had struck a mutually favourable bargain.

“It’s an equitable and fair deal for both sides,” she said. “There was a lot of back and forth and we feel it’s a fair agreement in terms of sharing the data and owning the customers together.”

Some magazines allow iPad users to access their print material free

Time Inc has established a more limited offering than Hearst, enabling iPad users holding Fortune, Sports Illustrated or Time subscriptions to access material for free.

Jeffrey Bewkes, Time Warner’s chief executive, was positive about the future of its print arm, despite suggestions this category may witness continuing profit pressure.

“We don’t feel the need, absolutely not the need to change any of the asset mixes,” he said.

Publishing sees upside coming with tablets

“We feel that publishing is a very strong performer, relative to its competitive set and it’s undergoing a pretty interesting upside with the tablets coming along.”

Fortune ran a feature on Apple in its print title and iPad variants last week, but did not post it online in the usual manner, partly as a means of potentially identifying viable strategies going forward.

“This is an entirely new experiment,” Dan Roth, managing editor of Fortune Digital, said. “We’re trying to figure out the best way of releasing journalism online.”

Trying to figure out best way to release journalism on line

“None of us have any idea what works and what doesn’t work anymore.”

Similar concerns were recently aired by Robin Steinberg, MediaVest’s director of publishing investment and activation, and a board member at measurement body the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

In a letter sent to many publishers last month, Steinberg argued brands should be allowed to choose whether digital editions were incorporated into readership and other figures.

She also said it was “critical” to determine just this kind of information, alongside creating highly rigorous monitoring more broadly.

Publishers most comfortable with traditional metrics

“Publishers are most comfortable with traditional metrics because their business models have been structured around these data points for years,” she said.

“There is an increasing need to evolve and reinvent archaic practices into modern approaches, delivering and reporting audience- and engagement-based measurement.”

Robert Sauerberg Jr, president of Condé Nast, the owner of magazines such as Vogue and Wired, believes improvements are already being made in this area.

“We all want to be transparent with our advertising partners but our systems must be in place and tested to ensure we are telling the right story,” he said.

“We will have more information soon, and we feel really good about the emerging picture.”

Data sourced from New York Times, Financial Times, AllThingsD; additional content by Warc staff, 10 May 2011

From World Advertising Research Center (WARC)

Tablet PCs are beginning to exert an influence on US consumers’ usage of devices such as smartphones and desktop computers.

The Nielsen Company, the research firm, surveyed shoppers possessing products like Apple’s iPad, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and the Motorola Xoom, to gain an insight into this increasingly competitive category.

Roughly half of the panel said they are the only person in their household to use this item, while 43% shared it with others.

A further 8% had bought a tablet but did not use it themselves, as other people in their home constituted the primary audience.

Having been asked how owning a slate impacted different channels, 35% of participants had reduced activity levels or simply no longer accessed a desktop PC.

Laptop computer activity significantly declined

This total stood at 32% for laptop computers, 28% for netbooks and 27% for ebook readers and portable media players.

Figures hit 20% relating to games consoles, 14% for geo-positioning services, 11% for internet-to-television players, 13% for smartphones and 11% for web-connected TV.

But only 5% had ceased employing netbooks altogether, the highest rating on this metric overall, with nearly every medium tracked scoring either 2% or 3%.

These numbers fell to 1% in assessing TVs that can link to the net, and effectively zero on the part of smartphones and internet-to-TV players.

Use of  Tablets has not affected time dedicated to  alternate platforms
Between half and three-quarters of those polled stated purchasing a tablet had not affected the time dedicated to alternative platforms – peaking at 72% for GPS and the 66% lodged by online-enabled TV sets.

A quarter of contributors were actually now more engaged with the latter appliance, handheld games machines and web-to-TV players.

Over a fifth adopted the same view in analysing the extent to which they leveraged smartphones, netbooks and internet-to-television tools.

Indeed, apart from desktop PCs, on 9%, all of the other options registered an improvement here, Nielsen’s study found.

Portability is the reason

When identifying the reasons to use tablets instead of PCs or laptops, 31% of the sample cited portability, 21% referenced the simplicity provided by its interface or operating system.

Elsewhere, 15% prioritised the comparative rapidity of starting and switching off the iPad and similar offerings, and 12% emphasised convenience, size and the ability to utilise tablets in various locations.

Fast speed recorded 11%, beating features such as calendars and apps on 10%, and the lightweight character of tablets, posting 7%.

Data sourced from The Nielsen Company; additional content by Warc staff9 May 2011

By Craig C. Calvin