RESEARCH BRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

 

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

 

According to Technorati's State of the Blogosphere 2008 report, the majority of bloggers surveyed currently have advertising on their blogs. Among those with advertising, the mean annual investment in their blog is $1,800. The mean annual revenue is $6,000 with $75K+ in revenue for those with 100,000 or more unique visitors per month.

There have been a number of studies aimed at understanding the size of the Blogosphere, says the report, yielding disparate estimates, but all studies agree that blogs are a global phenomenon that has hit the mainstream. Reports in 2008 include these estimates:

comScore MediaMetrix reports: (August 2008)

• Blogs... 77.7 million unique visitors in the US
• Facebook... 41.0 million
• MySpace... 75.1 million
• Total internet audience... 188.9 million

eMarketer says: (May 2008)

• 94.1 million US blog readers in 2007 (50% of Internet users)
• 22.6 million US bloggers in 2007 (12% of Internet users)

Universal McCann finds: (March 2008)

• 184 million world wide have started a blog
• 346 million world wide read blogs
• 77% of active Internet users read blogs

Wikipedia defines the Blogosphere as the collective community of all blogs. interconnected and socially networked. While discussions in the Blogosphere have been used by the media as a gauge of public opinion, Technorati isolates the Active Blogosphere as the ecosystem of interconnected communities of bloggers and readers at the convergence of journalism and conversation.

But, says the study, as the Blogosphere grows in size and influence, the lines between what is a blog and what is a mainstream media site become less clear. Larger blogs are taking on more characteristics of mainstream sites and mainstream sites are incorporating styles and formats from the Blogosphere. In fact, 95% of the top 100 US newspapers have reporter blogs.

Technorati tracked blogs in 81 languages in June 2008, and bloggers from 66 countries across six continents, finding that Bloggers have been at it an average of three years and are collectively creating close to one million posts every day. Blogs have representation in top-10 web site lists across all key categories, and have become integral to the media ecosystem.

The key findings included such things as:

• Personal, professional, and corporate bloggers all have differing goals and cover an average of five topics within each blog
• They use five different techniques to drive traffic to their blog.
• They're using an average of seven publishing tools on their blog and four distinct metrics for measuring success
• Bloggers ae receiving speaking or publishing opportunities, career advancement, and personal satisfaction
• Bloggers are using self serve tools for search, display, and affiliate advertising, and are increasingly turning to ad and blog networks.
• Four in five bloggers post brand or product reviews, with 37% posting them frequently
• 90% of bloggers say they post about the brands, music, movies and books that they love (or hate)
• Company information or gossip and everyday retail experiences are fodder for the majority of bloggers
• One-third of bloggers have been approached to be brand advocates

In 2004 when Technorati started, says the report, the typical reaction to the word 'blog' was 'huh?' Today... the blog has forever changed the way publishing works... anyone can be a publisher. The issue is no longer distribution, it's relevance.

For additional information, please visit Technorati here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

 

MediaPost News ONLINE MEDIA DAILY

by Joe Mandese, Tuesday, Nov 25, 2008 7:46 AM ET

The proliferation of time-shifting technologies and new "screens" for watching video, means Americans are watching more video programming than ever before, but they're still watching it primarily on a traditional video programming platform: the television set. That's the conclusion of a new "three screen" report from Madison Avenue's arbiter of TV audience estimates, the Nielsen Co. The report, which was released Monday as part of Nielsen's overall push into so-called "A2/M2" (anytime/anywhere) video audience measurement, does find that traditional in-home TV viewing has been losing share - albeit modestly - to newer video screen platforms, but that the biggest gainer is not Internet video or even video on the mobile Web, but technologies that enable consumers to watch traditional TV on a time-shifted basis. While traditional linear TV's share of time spent watching video in the U.S. declined 0.29% between the third quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2008 (the first for which Nielsen is reporting time spent watching video across all three screens), it still dominates the video medium with 91.83% of all minutes spent watching video during the third quarter. The biggest gainer was viewing via time-shifted devices such as DVRs and video-on-demand, which rose 5.25% to a 4.21% share of all video minutes viewed during the third quarter. While Internet video and mobile Web video also are growing, they still account for only a fraction of the total video marketplace, as defined by Nielsen. That's important, because Nielsen's estimates are still more or less the proxy for Madison Avenue's TV advertising budgets. Watching video on the Internet rose 12.5% to 2.52%, while watching video on a mobile phone jumped 11.4% to 2.33% of all video programming viewed during the third quarter of 2008. The TV and Internet estimates are calculated using Nielsen's national TV and Internet panels, which are measured electronically and reported on a regular basis. The mobile phone figures are collected by Nielsen via a quarterly survey and give a firsthand look at how early adopters report their usage of mobile video. The paltry online video share estimates are consistent with data presented last month by Black Arrow's Larry Kramer at the OMMA Video conference in Los Angeles. Kramer said the current TV usage landscape is still dominated by linear TV viewing--about 389 billion hours per year in 2008, compared with only 800 million viewing hours for online video. By 2010, he projected, linear TV viewing will decline to 342 billion viewing annual viewing hours, while online video will expand to 14 billion.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCH BRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

 

Monday, November 24, 2008

 

While journalists across all age groups and beat assignments are rapidly adopting social media tools into their everyday work, the greatest usage is shown by young "Millennial Generation" journalists.

Preliminary findings about these Millenial Generation journalists, shared by the Society for New Communications Research Symposium, showed that 100% of Millennial respondents (i.e., 18-29 year-olds) believe new media and communications tools are enhancing journalism, versus 40% in the 50-64 demographic.

Don Middleberg, formerly Associate Professor of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, said that "The most... significant finding of this... survey is the rapid adoption of new media and online communication among all journalists. The disparity in usage and perceived value of these new tools and technologies to the future of journalism is particularly striking among the youngest demographic versus the oldest."

The study, conducted by SNCR and Middleberg Communications, includes the following key findings:

• 87% of 18-29 year-olds believe bloggers have become important opinion-shapers, versus 60% of 50-64 year-olds
• 87% of 18-29 year-olds confirm that new media and communications enhances the relationship with their audience, versus 42% of 50-64 year-olds
• 48% of all respondents use LinkedIn, and 45% use Facebook to assist in reporting
• 68% of all respondents use blogs to keep up on issues or topics of interest
• 86% of all respondents use company websites, 71% use Wikipedia, and 46% use blogs to research an individual organization

Middleberg continued by saying "... we have new ways to reach and communicate with a whole new generation of journalists. The communications professionals who embrace these changes will be far more effective and successful."

While it's not entirely surprising, notes the report, that this younger generation of journalists are users of these new communications tools... they understand how to use them effectively in their work, and are pushing the journalism profession as a whole to create a more collaborative, reciprocal, interactive, and fluid form of journalism.

What is striking about this survey, says the report, is that it is very clear that the 'Millennials' - the younger journalists entering the workforce - are adopting new media and social tools more readily and seeing their value, especially in terms of collaborating with their peers and strengthening their relationships with their audiences and the people in the areas they cover.

Final results of the study are scheduled for release in the Spring of 2009. For more information, please visit this site.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

This week's Pizza Friday features Burger King's lost wallet, Motrin feeling mom's pain, and the end of the world.  And just for the record, we didn't have pizza today.  Instead we knoshed on sandwiches from the freaky fast fellas at Jimmy Johns.

By Natalie Zmuda

Published: November 20, 2008

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Trying to stand out in this tough economic environment as the holidays approach? Try emerging media.

 

Online video-game ads are gaining influence with consumers, espcially among the coveted 18- to 34-year-old demographic.

Photo Credit: IGA Worldwide

A study conducted by the National Retail Federation and BIG Research found that things like online video-game ads, blogs and text messages are gaining influence overall with consumers, particularly in the electronics category. While the numbers for all adults over 18 are still relatively small -- online video-game ads influence 7% of electronics purchases, while text messages influence 3% of clothing purchases, for example -- they jump to compelling levels among the coveted 18- to 34-year-old demographic.

Online video-game ads influenced 14% of electronics purchases among that group, while blogs influenced 11%, figures that outrank outdoor billboards and satellite radio. Text messaging is also gaining traction, influencing 9% of electronics purchases among 18- to 34-year-olds and 6% of clothing purchases.

New media rising
"As new technology places itself on the market, [it] is diverting attention from the typical newspaper and magazine advertisements," said Pamela Goodfellow, senior analyst at BIG Research. "It's up to retailers to be nimble in knowing what the latest and greatest is to reach their customers."

Product placement is also particularly effective among the 18- to 34-year-old demographic. A full 18% of shoppers said it influenced their electronics purchase, while 16% said it impacted a clothing purchase.

Among mass-marketing vehicles, retail ad inserts, which include traditional circulars and multi-advertiser coupon packages, are the most influential in both electronics and clothing purchases, with 29% and 33% of consumers citing them, respectively. Broadcast TV is effective in influencing 26% of electronics purchases, but it is not as effective in the clothing category, where it influences 21% of purchases. Instead, magazines are more influential in the clothing category, at 27%, although that medium only affects 23% of electronics purchases. Newspapers impact 23% of electronics and apparel purchases.

Customer experiences matter, too
Still, while the bulk of retailers' holiday marketing budgets is spent against media like broadcast TV and circulars, they would be wise to increase their focus on things like customer service, the in-store experience and public relations. The study found that word of mouth influences a full 44% of electronics purchases and 34% of clothing purchases. Meanwhile, articles or product reviews influenced 37% of electronics purchases and 12% of clothing purchases.

"When consumers are happy, they tell others," Ms. Goodfellow said. "Retailers need to be looking at [word of mouth] more carefully. It's kind of hard to control, because it's more about providing the best customer service and the best shopping experience, [but] it's a great tool."

For more information visit www.adage.com

MEDIAPOST'S ONLINE MEDIA DAILY

by Joe Mandese, Thursday, Nov 20, 2008 7:31 AM ET

Amid weakening economic conditions, U.S. ad executive plan to hedge more of their bets when planning and committing advertising budgets across the media over the next six months, according to the Fall 2008 edition of a semi-annual study tracking the economic perceptions of top marketers and ad agency media executives. The study, the Media Economy Report by Advertiser Perceptions Inc., finds that U.S. ad executives are expanding the number of "media brands" they are considering to buy over the next six months to an overall total of 53 from 46 in API's last survey in the Spring and 48 in its Fall 2007 survey last year. While the expansion in the number of media options being considered may be seen as an optimistic sign, it's also potentially pessimistic for media outlets that will need to vie amid a broader competitive set of alternatives to get a slice of advertising budgets. The expansion, however, appears to be mostly impacting online and TV media, while the number of print options being considered is actually declining. The study, which surveyed more than 1,000 advertisers and agency executives, found that the average number of online media brands being considered is grown to 18 from 14 last Spring and 17 last year, while the number of TV brands has risen to 22 from 21 last Spring and 16 last year. The number of print brands being considered has declined to 13 from 15 a year ago, though it is up from 11 last Spring. Meanwhile, the number of media brands the ad executives said they actually plan to place ads in over the next six months is expanding for online media, but is declining for TV and print media outlets. Respondents said they "will place ads" in seven online media brands over the next six months, up from only four last Spring and six last year. The number of TV brands being bought has declined to eight from nine last year, though it is even with last Spring. The number of print brands has dipped to five from six last Spring, though it is even with last year. The data reveals that online media brands being considered for advertising budgets over the next six months have a 2.6-to-1 chance of actually making it on the buy, and improvement from a 2.8-to-1 ratio a year ago. The odds for print media brands, meanwhile, has grown worse, increasing to odds of 3-to-1 from 2.6-to-1 a year ago, while the odds for TV brands remains the same at 2.8-to-1. Joe Mandese is Editor of MediaPost.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCH BRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

 

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

 

Retailers Make Online Shopping More Attractive For Christmas

 

According to results of the 2008 eHoliday Study from Shop.org, 56.1% of online retailers expect their holiday sales to increase at least fifteen percent over last year, compared to 77.5% of retailers surveyed last year who expected their sales to grow more than 15 percent.

Scott Silverman, Executive Director of Shop.org, says "...Retailers will be heavily promotional to attract shoppers on a budget, but have also invested in new site features to improve the online buying experience."

Despite an increase in transportation costs, retailers do not plan to cut back on popular free shipping promotions. This year:

• 78% of retailers plan to offer free shipping with conditions
• 40.4% of retailers are compensating for increased shipping costs by renegotiating terms with shipping providers
• 33.3% are closely managing company headcount
• 15.8% are reducing other promotions
• 21.3% of retailers say they will require a higher purchase amount for customers to be eligible for free shipping
• 10.6% will cut back on usage of free shipping with no conditions

In addition to free shipping promotions, many retailers have rolled out new website features to improve the customer experience.

• 42.9% of retailers added or improved site search to help customers navigate sites more easily
• 42.6% added product video
• 32.7% offered customer reviews

... to give shoppers more information to make buying decisions.

For price-focused shoppers:

• 27.1% of  retailers have added and enhanced clearance sale pages
• 31.3% added featured sale pages
• 25.0% of online retailers added a Facebook page this year

58% of consumers acknowledge that 24-hour shopping convenience is one of the main reasons why they choose to buy online. Additionally, shoppers' other top reasons for buying online instead of in stores include:

• Not wanting to fight crowds (41.1%)
• Easy price comparisons (36.4%)
• Free shipping (33.3%) Also, nearly one in four shoppers says they are
• Online spending due to high gas prices (23.1%)

Helen Malani, Shopzilla's Online Shopping Expert, concludes "... budget-focused consumers... are starting on the web to look for gift ideas... whether they make those holiday purchases online or in stores, the Internet will have a tremendous influence... this year."

For more information about the study, please visit Shop.org here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

 

If you have harbored any doubt about the power of the consumer over advertising and branding, this weekend the issue was laid to rest.  The power of the consumer is an undeniable force to be reckoned with.

Painkiller brand Motrin recently produced a new advertising campaign targeting mothers of infants who suffer from back pain by wearing baby carriers.  The campaign, themed "We feel your pain" has completely backfired on them in a 48 hour explosion that took place last weekend.  In a case study on the power of social media that will likely go down in history, Motrin was hammered by consumers complaining by the thousands on YouTube, Twitter, and blogs everywhere.  By the end of the 48 hour onslaught Johnson & Johnson's McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit is pulling the campaign, from the New York office of independent shop Taxi, and begging a vocal mommy-blogging nation for forgiveness.

Please read the entire AdAge article here.  It is amazing.

Here's the commercial that outraged mothers of infants by the thousands. (SIDENOTE: Any similarities between this spot and the ones currently running for Ford's F-150 can't be a coincidence, but why???)



And here's the YouTube video that collects their comments in a nine minute embarrassment for Motrin.
 

MediaPost's ONLINE MEDIA DAILY

Commentary

What Is A World-Class Marketing Database?

by Shay Young, Tuesday, Nov 18, 2008 7:00 AM ET

A world-class marketing database is an environment that has the ability to change and adapt in lock-step with your corporation's changes while also enabling you to learn from the data within itself. This allows for better marketing decision-making capabilities which, in turn, will inform you on how to adjust your database. A world-class marketing database is not just software; rather, it is a dynamic, living organism comprised of marketing database strategist(s), architect(s), and developers who are constantly in-touch with the direction of your corporation's marketing efforts, sales initiatives and goals. Here's the truth: There is no turnkey, world-class database that will handle any and all of your marketing needs and will maximize the ROI of all "your" marketing efforts. That said, the name of the game IS maximization of profit, not just increased response. In order to achieve that, a customized marketing database that can grow, change and adapt to your business' needs is crucial. Your company's mission, vision, product line, sales channels, current and future customer base will drive your database. If you find yourself saying "But all of those aspects change over time," then you're on the right track. Those things DO change, which is why your database needs to be able to change and grow, not stagnate in times gone by while holding you back like an anchor. The road to any world-class database starts with a simple definition of your marketing needs and goals, both short and long term. From that definition a discovery phase should take place to survey the land. Something as simple as a SWOT data analysis of your current marketing efforts will help uncover gaps in your existing strategies. A side-by-side comparison of your marketing strategies can help you identify overlap in these efforts as well. If you have the budget for hiring a consultant to help identify existing data stores in your organization outside of the marketing arena, this can also help to save both time and money. OK, so how much? No one can tell you up-front. A common misconception is that a database professional should be able to quote a solution like a contractor. The difference is a contactor already knows what materials are needed to build a house based on what the architect has laid out in blueprints. He knows how many nails, pieces of lumber, and yards of concrete will be necessary after an architect builds the solution on paper. Up-front pricing is impossible for database marketing because the software systems and data repositories are unknown at that point. For example, if a contractor bids a house based solely on square footage and location, he may be thinking vinyl siding while you wanted brick. He may be thinking granite, but you wanted oak. He was thinking laminate, while you wanted tile. The fact of the matter is that your company will spend as much (and likely more) time and money on trying to fit your data into a one-size-fits-all database as you would building a database that is designed to fit your specific and unique marketing needs. The short version of the story is that while your cost in developing a database solution will go down, your cost in support, license upgrades, and report development will likely go up. Some developers believe the solution is a turnkey, one-size-fits-all CRM database utilizing simple querying and point-and-click campaign creation. Sales people often champion the "standard" methodology that their database team uses to store and track marketing initiatives and responses. Both are wrong. A world-class marketing database is simply a database that meets all of your marketing needs, whatever those needs may be. Young is a senior database analyst at Euro RSCG Discovery.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCH BRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

 

Monday, November 17, 2008

Green Piece

 

According to a recent Yahoo! Green study, 77% of consumers describe themselves as "Green," actively living their lives conscious of their health and environment, and 57% have made a Green purchase in the past 6 months.

But, concludes the study, the fact that not all green consumers are the same creates a great opportunity for advertisers to better understand the purchasing motivations of mainstream green consumers, one of the largest and fastest growing markets nationwide. The study segments green consumers into four main groups:

Deeply Committed: 

• 23% of market... early-adopters of green who are looking to make a long-term impact
• Mostly adults (35+)
• Skew female
• More educated
• Higher percent live in metropolitan areas 
• Respond most to the "positively impact the environment" message

Trendy:

• 24% of market... trend-setters who are motivated to be green to look cool
• Younger (18-34)
• More ethnically diverse 
• Respond to messages about "everybody else is doing it," newest technology, cool/hip.

Practical: 

• 13% of market... motivated to be green by immediate benefits such as saving money or improving health 
• Skew a bit older (45+)
• More with children
• Over-index in rural areas

 Passive: 

• 17% of market, recognize green as important but place the responsibility more on others than themselves
• Younger adults (25-34)
• More women with kids 
• Respond to messages about providing a better life for their family

Other: 

• The other 23% of the market says they don't care about the environment, or they say they care, but they don't take any action.

Two of the segments present the biggest opportunity for advertisers, says the report... the "trendy" consumers who go green to be cool, and the "deeply committed".  These segments buy more green products, discuss green issues often, and convince others to make the same green purchases. 

• 80% of the "deeply committed" and 69% of the "trendy" consumers have made a green purchase in the past 6 months
• 79% of "deeply committed" and "trendy" consumers say that if they like a product they will always tell their friends
• 70% of the "trendy" and 66% of "deeply committed" consumers who have recently purchased a green alternative product have convinced a family/friend to buy the same product

The study reports that Online is an important source for green information:

• More than two-thirds (68%) of survey respondents cite online as a source of green information, on par with traditional media (72%)
• In the online space, people look most to portal websites (Yahoo!, MSN, etc.) for more information on green products (51%), likely due to the richness of content offered by such sites.
• Second is online search (44%) 
• Reading online reviews by users also high (40%). People look to user reviews more than professional reviews (24%) 
• Lowest is a company website (20%) and blogs (21%)
• A large percent of people still look to TV ads for more info on green products (47%), especially in the household cleaning product category (37%)

This study included 1,500 internet respondents between the ages of 18-54 from a diverse cross-section of the population from around the country, as well as in-person interviews with people who live in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland. 8% of people were screened out of this survey because they stated that they were "not at all conscious with regard to their health and the environment". Therefore, survey respondents include an Internet representative sample of 92% of consumers

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

Obviously, the rules have changed drastically.  Thanks to a major shift in economics as well as the balance of social-political power in our culture, marketers are scrambling to connect with the unpredictable moving target of today's consumer.

J. Walker Smith presents some powerful insights into where we've come from and where we're headed as a consumer society living in a Post Abundance world.  His article "Enough of Too Much" appeared in the November 2008 issue of Media.  It has been summarized in the form of the following brief presentation.

MediaPost's ONLINE MEDIA DAILY

by Laurie Sullivan, Friday, Nov 14, 2008 7:01 AM ET

Google, Microsoft and Yahoo might dominate the search market, but a host of niche players have begun to emerge that hope to turn those little sponsored links at the top and along the sides of search queries into big profits. There's no denying that pay-per-click links need a boost. Only 20% of the 325 people who participated in a recent search survey said they occasionally click on sponsored links, according to Piper Jaffray managing director Gene Munster, who moderated the panel "Searching for the Future" at the Global Internet Summit 2008 in Laguna Beach, Calif. earlier this week. Mark Cramer, CEO at Surf Canyon, which offers a browser extension for search engines, built on semantic technology, said the percentage the company registers is far less than the Piper Jaffray stat. Panelists from Oakland, Calif.-based Surf Canyon and New York-based Hakia told attendees that click-throughs have declined and they have a better way to reverse that trend for marketers. Semantic search, which relies on a variety of linguistic tools and natural language technology to interpret the meaning of search phrases, can produce more accurate results, increasing the relevance for queries to serve up precise paid or sponsored links. "If 10% of people click on sponsored links today, semantic search would increase that to 50%," said Melek Pulatkonak, Hakia president. Keywords determine most query results, while semantic search relies on the meaning, so the technology requires a more sophisticated architecture and index, which remain major hurdles preventing widespread adoption, she said. The ability to have a natural conversation with the computer and mobile phones, including verbal conversations, will enable search engines to serve up more accurate paid links. "You will be able to chat with your search engine in instant messenger," Pulatkonak said, "and have a natural conversation with your computer." The technology in "Star Trek episodes will become a reality," she added. Hakia is not the only company supporting the semantic search. Elsevier, a publisher of scientific, medical, and technical products and services, recently unveiled an upgrade to illumin8, an online semantic text-mining search engine designed to help researchers closely answer complex questions with greater speed. The search engine is not free, and it takes a few seconds to cross-check the meaning. It presents a summary of results organized in separate panes of a full-screen window in about 15 seconds, sorted by organization, approach, benefit, author/inventor, company and product. Earlier this week, Microsoft secured a search deal that gives Sun Microsystems the rights to distribute the Redmond, Wash. company's MSN Toolbar powered by Microsoft Live Search as part of its Java Runtime Environment. Industry insiders believe that Microsoft eventually will integrate semantic search, a technology acquired through the July acquisition of San Francisco-based Powerset. Microsoft then could easily migrate semantic into mobile search, a segment under siege, as it battles with Google for the rights to become the search engine on Verizon Wireless phones. Laurie Sullivan can be reached at sullivan@mediapost.com.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

This week's pizza serving is a deep dish of origami ATM receipts, a headache like a wrecking ball, and ideas for life.

Mediapost's Online Media Daily

Study: Publishers Missing Out On Untapped Monetary Value Of Online Content Proliferation

by Gavin O'Malley, Thursday, Nov 13, 2008 7:32 AM ET

If a publisher's content is being read online, chances are it's not happening on their own site. That remarkable finding is part of new research being released today by tech firm Attributor. On average, Attributor found, content publishers gain nearly 60% of their content views off their destination sites. What's more, in categories like automotive and travel, that percentage is even more severe, with auto content getting almost 6 times more views off-site than on the original destination site. With the help of Web analytics firm Compete, Attributor tracked the content of over 100 publications across roughly 30 billion Web pages for its new study. "Across all sites in the study, publishers have an untapped off-site audience that is almost 1.5 times the size of the audience that visits their site," said Rich Pearson, vice president of marketing at Attributor. Using a CPM of $1, Attributor found that 40% of the publishers studied are missing out on a minimum of $100,000 in annual ad revenue, while 58% are missing out on a minimum of $50,000 in annual revenue. Attributor licenses content and reader analysis technology to about 14 top publisher clients, including Reuters, Condé Nast, and the Financial Times. The Redwood City-based firm fingerprints and continuously monitors its clients' original content as it is distributed across the Web-- providing analysis, statistics and a clear view of how the content is being discussed, re-used, and monetized. At first glance, some analysts found Attributor's findings hard to swallow. "I don't know exactly how they conducted their research, but it seems a bit doom-and-gloom to me," said Emily Riley, senior analyst at Forrester Research. "It would make more sense if (the research) included user-generated content." Pearson, however, insisted that the new findings are an accurate reflection of how publishers' content is being consumed online. "Most people are shocked by the data," said Pearson. "If a blog or publisher posts an article, on average, we find about 20 different copies of that article online. It's the natural proliferation of text content." Gavin O'Malley can be reached at gavin@mediapost.com

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCH BRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

 

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

 

 

According to a study from The Creative Group, 65% of marketing executives and 45% of ad execs think their firms don't take enough creative risks when developing marketing and advertising projects.

Among marketing executives, only 33% said they take the "right" amount of risks, and a mere 1% said they take too many risks. Nearly two-thirds believe their firm either doesn't take enough risks or plays it much too safe when developing creative work for clients.

Marketing Exec Rating of Own Firm's Creative Risk Taking
Risk	% of Respondents
About right	33%
Some, but not enough	44
Too safe	21
Don't know	1
Too much risk	1
Source: The Creative Group, September 2008

Ad executives are more satisfied with number of risks their firm takes. While 6% believe their firm takes too many risks, 48% believe their firm is taking the right amount and 45% think they either don't take enough risks or play it too safe.

AD Exec Rating of Own Firm's Creative Risk Taking
Risk	% of Respondents
About right	48%
Some, but not enough	38
Too safe	7
Don't know	1
Too much risk	6
Source: The Creative Group, September 2008

Megan Slabinski, executive director of The Creative Group, opines "... when budgets are lean, it can be an opportune time for firms to try new or unproven promotional strategies and distinguish themselves from competitors."

The Creative Group findings, coupled with experience, leads the firm to suggest the following:

• Make certain that the idea is an initiative that could genuinely move your company forward. Take ego out of the equation
• Double-check all information for accuracy before you present it. Minor errors can quickly erode credibility
• When pitching ideas, use the same terminology that your audience does and avoid creative jargon
• Understand the challenges decision makers face and the pressures they are under. View things from your audience's perspective.

For more information from Creative Group please visit here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

by Joe Mandese, Tuesday, Nov 11, 2008 8:00 AM ET

In a Madison Avenue first, WPP's Mindshare unit has cut a deal to begin serving ads to social media users based on the time they actually spend engaged on social media sites, and the advertising content surrounding them. The deal, details of which will be announced today with Lotame, the developer of an advanced audience behavior targeting system, is another step by a major agency away from the classic advertising model of placing ads based on the context of media content and instead moving to one based on the context of the audiences consuming it. Lotame, which is a truncation of "local, target and message," is a scrappy start-up, has won favor with publishers of mid-tier social networks - a grouping just under the Facebooks and Myspaces of the Web 2.0 universe that represents about 50 million unique users - by developing a suite of audience targeting systems enabling agencies and marketers to serve ads to users based on where and when they might be most receptive to an ad for a specific advertising brand. "We're the next generation of an advertising network," boasts Lotame CEO Andy Monfried, referring to the rapidly emerging marketplace of third-parties that are helping to organize the unsold and under-sold inventory from the rapidly expanding sea of online publishers into manageable, relevant advertising buys for marketers and agencies. Only Lotame focuses on social media sites, and builds audience networks based on how much time they spend on a site, and specifically, with advertising on that site. The tools are so sophisticated that they utilize biometric techniques that can determine whether a user's mouse is active or inactive on a screen and whether their screen scrolls on or off a page showing an ad, or even partially obscuring it. In effect, Monfried says the system does for the social media marketplace, what Google's AdWords system did for keyword search buys, or what Advertising.com did for the first generation of display advertising across advertising networks: allow marketers to efficiently scale their messages to a relevant audience and to strip away extraneous impressions. The move is part of a broader trend among a wide range of third-parties that are helping to reorganize Web audience reach based not on the context of the content published, but on the behaviors of people accessing them. Last week, Havas Digital CEO Don Epperson revealed during a keynote at the OMMA Ad Nets conference in New York how the Madison Avenue giant has developed its own "virtual brand network," a proprietary database management system that allows it to plan, buy and post online audiences based on their relevance and precise value to the agency's clients. During his keynote, Epperson said such trends are decoupling audiences from content and are blurring the roles among publishers, networks and agencies. In its announcement, Lotame says Mindshare will utilize its "time spent" online ad buying system to support a campaign for "a national mobile telecommunications network." Mindshare currently handles Sprint's and Nextel's nearly $1 billion media buying account. "Time Spent is the right platform at the right time," Mindshare Managing Director Edward McLoughlin states in the announcement. "Interest in digital media is peaking and by offering us and our customers the opportunity to test and measure the impact of exposure, we anticipate brands with any level of experience with online advertising to flock to this model." Joe Mandese is Editor of MediaPost. For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCH BRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

 

Monday, November 10, 2008

At the "Masters of Marketing" Conference by the Association of National Advertisers recently, 1,200 client-side marketers, media and creative agencies and others, were polled via handheld devices about their marketing mix, budgets, plans, and tactics throughout the event. The results are shown here:

Adjustment to current marketing and media plans to account for the recent downturn in the financial markets:

• 33% say spending will be reduced
• 33% say spending will be constant / marketing mix will be reallocated
• 27% expect to spend more
• 8%  will keep everything status quo

CEO view of marketing efforts with respect to growth:

• 56% think of brand-building as an investment
• 21% think it's an unaccountable but necessary expense
• 15% are not sure
• 8% consider it an unnecessary expense

Preferred social media site for driving brand growth:

• 32% say none
• 20% say YouTube
• 18% facebook
• 12% like them all
• 10% say LinkedIn
• 6% MySpace
• 3% Twitter

Plans for Marketing expense in 2009 vs. 2008:

• 26% plan to increase spending more than 10%
• 13% plan to increase spending less than 10%
• 28% will hold stable
• 14% will decrease spending less than 10%
• 19% will decrease spending more than 10%

The largest branding discipline offering opportunity for growth:

• 17% choose traditional 30-second spots
• 7% like one page advertisements in a newspaper/magazine
• 16% pick web advertising
• 28% choose social media integration
• 7% feel direct Marketing
• 19% think grassroots, viral public relations
• 5% like radio

Company's current measurement method of brand growth:

• 70% say sales and net income
• 15% use third party brand equity valuations
• 9% think shareholder value
• 4% measure by household penetration
• 3% say company culture

Source: Association of National Advertisers, October 2008

Please see the complete release here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

 

RESEARCH BRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

 

Friday, November 7, 2008

 

Youth Is Not An Age

 

According to the "Golden Age of Youth" study from Viacom Brand Solutions International, marketers should target consumers based upon their engagement and participation in youth culture rather than on their chronological age, and consider the often-overlooked 25-34 age group a part of the youth market, VBSI said.

Kevin Razvi, EVP and managing director of VBSI, said "... people are trying to stay younger for longer... 25-to-34 year-olds are continuing to consume music, gaming and the internet and are enjoying the pursuits of their younger years... we... need to rethink what 'youth' actually means and... (how to) approach this constantly evolving group of people."

Though those between 25 and 34 remain youthful, there are some important differences among them and their younger and older counterparts. The study identified three distinct stages of youth:

• "Discovery" (16-19 years old)
• "Experimentation" (20-24 years old)
• "Golden" (25-34 years old)

Key findings:

25-34 year-olds are happier, and more confident/secure and gravitate toward premium, understated and often luxurious brands and experiences to affirm their identity. In contrast, teenagers are highly focused on material gain and employ brands to define their identity.

• 25-34-year-olds are most likely to agree that they are happy or content with their personal life, and are 24% more likely than teens to agree that they "love life"
• More than 80% of the global respondents say that that the 20s should be about exploring life and having fun

Teens feel under pressure to figure out who they are and where they are going and are 23% more likely than those 25-34 to agree that their life is more stressful. This is particularly true in Europe and in the US.

• 17% of the global sample who said they'd "made some major decisions in life too early" were the most unhappy and stressed group of 25-34 year olds among all the respondents

Traditional adult brands need to adopt a more youthful tone to avoid being seen as irrelevant, the study said. To support this:

• 23% of the 25-to-34-year-old global sample feels that financial institutions are aimed at those older than they are, though youthful brands have a new market beyond the core teenage target
• In the traditionally young area of technology, one-third of 25-34 year olds agree they're really interested in new technology, and 66% say that they take the time to learn how things work to get the most out of them

The study also found that from a global perspective, 25 is the "ideal" age overall, and includes some additional findings and regional differences:

• Respondents age 25-34 who are married are significantly more likely to be happy (66%) vs. singles (30%)
• Only 36% of Europeans and 39% of Asians 25-34 feel like they're struggling with their current financial situation vs. 55% in Latin America and 51% in America
• 71% of 25-34-year-olds agree they feel comfortable with who they are. Those who feel most settled with their identity live in Mexico (84%), India (83%) and Saudi Arabia (82%). Those who are least comfortable are the Japanese (26%)
• 35% of Europeans would find it strange if someone got married in their early 20s vs. only 20% of Americans and 18% of Japanese
• In general, 78% of 25-34-year-olds are optimistic about their future. This is highest in Latin America (85%), lowest in Asia (67%) and the US (72%)
• 62% of Latin Americans felt they made life decisions too early vs. only 24% Japanese, 37% of Europeans and 50% of Americans

VBSI used both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to survey more than 25,000 respondents between age 16-46 in 18 countries.

Read more about the survey, including charts and graphs, here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

This week's Pizza Friday features Photoshop from anywhere, the Now widget, and Obama.

How to Achieve Advertising Success in Today's Consumer Driven Marketplace

Much has changed in the world of advertising in the last decade.  New technology has meant faster delivery of advertising campaigns.  New media has meant more ways to deliver an advertising message.  But perhaps the most significant change in advertising in the last ten years has been the shifting role of the consumer.  Today's consumer has moved from a passive role to an active role and this shift changes everything.  The following presentation highlights the impact that this movement is having on advertising and lays out the basic blueprint for capitalizing on this significant revolutionary milestone in the business of advertising.

New York Times, Chicago Sun-Times Go Back to Press

For the First Draft of History? Readers Line up Around the Block

By Nat Ives

Published: November 05, 2008

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Newspapers savored their brightest day of sun for a long time today as readers lined up to buy copies reporting the historic results of yesterday's election of Sen. Barack Obama as the 44th U.S. president. Turns out that the making of history reminds people what it is they like about newsprint -- its permanence. Unfortunately for the newspaper industry, there aren't many days like Nov. 4, 2008.

The Washington Post may sell up to three times as many copies as normal, if you include sales from the 350,000 commemorative editions printed that followed a sellout for the regular edition, despite 30% more copies on the racks.

Not a moneymaker
It's not making the Post a ton of extra money, however, said Steve Hills, president and general manager of Washington Post Media. "Ninety percent of our dollars come from advertising," he said. "So it's really about the brand."

"There are things that the website can do that the paper can't do," Mr. Hills added. "And there are things that the newspaper can do that the website can't do. There is an authority to the paper and a lasting quality to the paper that is unique."

Elsewhere around the country, The New York Times printed an extra 50,000 copies after newsstands and bookstores across the city sold out of editions with the simple headline "Obama."

The Chicago Sun-Times sold out today's edition and printed another 150,000. "We are selling the extras so fast, people are lining up at the gate of the printing plant to buy the paper," said Don Hayner, managing editor, in a note to the journalism blog Romenesko.

The story was the same in Baltimore. "We printed some 33,000 extra copies this morning, and retailers have been selling out," Sun editor Tim Franklin wrote in a memo to staff. "So they are firing up the presses again at Sun Park to print another 30,000 copies of today's paper. And our page view numbers online are through the roof."

Deals on eBay, Craigslist
A secondary market had already sprung up, with eBay offering papers including USA Today, The Washington Times, the Chicago Sun-Times, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer and even The Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wisc.

Craigslist had copies of the New York Times (with one offered for $35), the New York Daily News as well as "WANTED: Today's NEW YORK TIMES paper" ads.

Still, one day is not enough to counter long-term trends. The industry's average paid weekday circulation declined 4.6% in the first half of the year from the first half of 2007, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Sunday paid circulation fell 4.9%.

RESEARCH BRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

 

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

 

Digital Out-Of-Home Continues On Double Digit Growth Track

 

The new PQ Media study: Digital Out-of-Home Media Forecast, 2008-2012, reports that the U.S. is the leading player in the DOOH industry, with 40 percent of the global spend. But the industry is growing fast overseas, driven by more liberal regulation of new technologies and pushed by the Olympic marketing in China this summer. Global DOOH spending will reach $6.1 billion in 2008 from $5.4 billion in 2007, with a CAGR of 14 percent from 2007-2012.

The most active DOOH advertisers in 2007 were CPG and electronic, followed by media and entertainment, food & drink, and retail. 66 percent of overall DOOH advertising spending comes from national brands, such as Pepsi, BMW, McDonalds and numerous other Fortune 500 companies.

Domestic spending in the category, which includes digital billboards and video advertising networks in transit, retail, offices, and movie theaters, reached $2.18 billion in 2007 and is expected to hit $2.4 billion in 2008. Digital billboards are the fastest-growing subsegment of the DOOH category, surging 44% in 2007 to $369 million, and expected to grow another 28% in 2008 to $473 million.

Global Digital Out-of-Home Media Forecast 2008-2012
	2007($M)	2008($M)	2007 Growth	2008 Growth	2002-'07 CAGR	2007-'12 CAGR
Video Advertising Networks	$1,294	$1,399	25.3%	8.1%	25.9%	10.9%
Digital Billboards	369	473	44.6	28.2	36.3	24.3
Ambient Advertising	525	561	11.9	6.8	12.8	7.2
Total U.S. DOOH	2,187	2,432	23.9	11.2	23.1	12.1
Non U.S. DOOH	3,224	3,673	21.7	13.9	21.3	15.3
Total Global DOOH	5,411	6,105	22.6	12.8	22.0	14.0
Source: PQ Media

All three segments of the DOOH media market, VANs, digital billboards, and ambient advertising (placed-based media), contributed to overall market growth (through 2007). Due to the shift in advertising budgets, DOOH media surpassed growth in other OOH media, such as static billboards, street furniture and transit, and in traditional media, such as television, newspapers and radio.

Digital billboards, including at-road, at-retail, at-transit and at-entertainment, is the fastest growing DOOH sub-segment, surging 44.6% in 2007 to $369 million. Growth was fueled by the rapid deployment of at-road signs in most DMAs, and increased interest in smaller digital signs in malls and concerts, and on moving vehicles.

The DOOH media industry is expected to grow 11.2% to $2.43 billion in 2008, decelerating from steady growth of more than 20% annually from 2002 through 2007. The market will experience a CAGR of 12.9% from 2007 to 2012, with overall spending reaching $4.01 billion in 2012. 

• VANs, narrowcast entertainment, information and advertising content to target audiences in various out-of-home venues such as in-theater, in-office/entertainment, in-retail and in-transit  will remain the largest segment, reaching $1.40 billion in 2008, but it will exhibit the most dramatic deceleration of the three segments, growing 8.1% after a 25.3% gain in 2007.
• Digital billboards, driven by longer commutes, increased mass transit use, and new technology that integrated LCD and LED signs with broadband to manage message delivery, change copy, and provide clients with impression data, will remain the fastest-growing DOOH segment, with spending climbing 28.2% in 2008, driven by the increased rollout of signs in all venues.
• Ambient advertising, reaching consumers through methods that are relatively non-intrusive and often unexpected like signage targeting active consumers at sporting facilities, messages on consumer products aimed at the youth market, and scents emitted at retail outlets targeting female shoppers, will remain the slowest-growing DOOH segment in 2008, with gains slowing to 6.9% after five years in the double digits. Spending will reach $561 million in 2008.

According to PQ Media president and CEO Patrick Quinn, "DOOH has the power to engage consumers during captive moments for extended periods of time. Over time... it will become a key component of the media mix and take a huge bite out of traditional ad dollars in a post recession period."

Please find more about the forecasts and access to the Global Digital Out-of-Home Media Forecast here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

Marketing to today's consumer means an end to one-way advertising communications and a beginning of two-way conversational communication.  This presentation explains the need for a conversational approach to marketing and provides some tips on how to make your conversations with consumers work.

Insights and strategies for capitalizing on emerging and continuing trends in the digital media space. This presentation provides specific recommendations for planning digital media campaigns as well as selling campaign ideas to clients and/or internally to upper management.

RESEARCH BRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

 

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

 

Subsets Of A Digital Age

 

ExactTarget's 2008 Channel Preference Survey of 1,500 internet users ages 15 to 65 reports that people communicate more frequently and via more channels than ever before. Not surprisingly, a majority of people prefer to communicate with friends and family via the phone rather than email. This preference is positively correlated with age.

Surprisingly, though, says the report, are the survey results showing that 8% of those over 65 use SMS, and 4% subscribe to social networks! Another surprising data point is that 42% of teens prefer to communicate via SMS, yet 62% prefer to receive promotions via email vs. only 1% via SMS.

The study confirms that there are marked differences between age groups not only in the usage of media, but also their acceptance of and attitudes towards each type and using multiple forms of media concurrently. And, consumer profiles and habits are changing... sometimes dramatically.

Messaging Preferences by Age Group (% of Age Group)
Age	Instant Messaging	SMS (Texting)	Email
15-17	16%	42%	27%
18-24	19	34	34
25-34	8	21	58
35-44	5	10	78
45-54	5	6	80
55-64	2	3	87
65+	0	0	88
Source: ExactTarget, October 2008

To better understand the unique characteristics of different types of consumers, ExactTarget and the Center for Media Design at Ball State University partnered to develop personas of common target audiences in order to provide a glimpse into how one might structure a campaign targeting these types of consumers, with the ultimate goal of developing a profile and one-to-one communications.

Highlights of six personas and how they interact with different media include:

Wired Consumers tend to be young males, between the ages of 18 and 34 years old, without kids. They are employed full-time or self employed, have a good income-an annual household income of at least $35K-and have at least a college education.

20% of Wired Users subscribed for marketing communications via SMS (more so than any other group) but want to receive texts only for urgent customer service issues, like financial alerts or travel updates.

Consumers in this group are exposed to more media throughout the day than any other group, primarily though computers. These consumers spend an average of 8 hours a day on their computers accessing the internet, email, and using some sort of computer software, including games. By comparison, exposure to television and radio is relatively low, but not nominal, at nearly 3 hours of television a day. In addition to computer and television time, these consumers are on the phone an average of one hour per day. More than two-thirds of phone time is on a landline phone.

Young Homemakers are females, between the ages of 18 and 34 years old, who consider "homemaker" to be their primary occupation, and typically have an annual household income of at least $35K. Over half  of Young Homemakers use social networks and SMS during the day, but direct mail and email are their preferred marketing channels. Across the board, Young Homemakers spend approximately 40% of their day exposed to 2 or more forms of media concurrently.

Young Homemakers' media use is split between two subgroups: heavy traditional media consumers (High Media), and low traditional media consumers (Low Media). The Low Media group is slightly larger than the High Media group.

Within the High Media group, television watching is among the highest in the study at just over 6 hours of television exposure per day. For the Low Media group, television viewing is less than 2 hours per day. The High Media group spends more time online, almost 3 hours a day, compared to an average of 1-2 hours per day for the Low Media group. Additionally, the High Media group spends more time reading magazines and newspapers, 40 minutes per day, compared to approximately 10 minutes per day for the Low Media group.

Personal communication is a high priority and Young Homemakers don't want to be interrupted. For them, it is about feeling in control and being heard. Marketers should seek to build an opt-in relationship with this group for email, or leverage their affinity to direct mail with relevant, helpful information and products.

Retired consumers spend more of their day with the television on than any other group (more than 7 hours per day on average). They also spend a significant amount of time reading a combination of newspapers and books. The time they spend reading magazines is consistent with other groups, less than 10 minutes on average per day. And, men tend to spend more time listening to the radio than women.

This group consists exclusively of people who have retired, and includes both men and women, though the sample is skewed toward male respondents (57%). Of this group, 80% have attended college, and 41% received at least a Bachelor's degree. 81% of the Retired community purchased online and 94% have been influenced by some form of direct marketing to make a purchase

Unlike younger consumers, little of their day is spent with more than one media form at a time. Only 15% of media exposure is concurrent. Relatively, they spend only a small amount of time online. For those people who are online, using email is a central component of their internet experience. Mobile email is virtually non-existent, only 3% have a smartphone capable of sending and receiving mobile email.

Retired consumers prefer traditional direct channels. Of interest is the reality that email now fits into this category, along with direct mail and telemarketing.

College Students, predominantly 18-24 year olds in the sample, believe private communication channels (e.g., SMS, social networks) are off-limits for marketers. College Students want to keep personal and business affairs separate. Marketers should remember that email is the channel for "official" communications.

Media exposure within this group varies dramatically, making generalizations difficult. That said, on average media exposure is generally lower than may be commonly believed, marked primarily by relatively low exposure to television in the typical day. College students are heavy internet users, and spend considerable time reading books, listening to music, and watching movies.

Significant portions of their day is spent using media concurrently, with the computer seldom far away. The heavy time demands of college study and college life shape the media usage for this persona; there may be a tendency to favor media that allows the user control over where and when they are used. Time with media tends to be an even mix between home and school access.

Teens consist exclusively of high school students between 15 and 17 years of age. The sample skews slightly higher than average in annual household income. Though Teens use social networking more than any other group, they are more likely to make a purchase from direct mail, followed by email, SMS, and social network sites.

In out-of-school settings, Teens engage heavily with the computer, television, print (in the form of magazines), and music through MP3 players. Aside from reading school textbooks, teens are heavily inclined toward screen-based media, frequently having more than one such medium accessible at a time for inbound or outbound communications purposes, entertainment etc.

Teens are open to marketing through a variety of channels, and nothing is completely off the table, which requires allocating resources to multiple communication channels and providing individuals with a choice.

Established Professionals are moderate media consumers. Television exposure is near average at approximately 3 hours per day, while radio exposure is the highest of any group identified (more than 3 hours per day on average), much of which happens in the car commuting for work. They are online multiple times throughout the day, typically spending more time online at work than at home. They are average consumers of newspapers and magazines.

This group consists of professionals employed full-time, age 35 or more, with annual household incomes greater than $75K per year. 65% are between the ages of 35 and 54 years of age. The sample is evenly split between men and women

Within the group of Established Professionals, women are more likely than men to use new digital media channels like IM, SMS, and social networking to communicate with friends and family. 92% of consumers in this group, both men and women, have made an online purchase

For Established Professionals, it's about email and direct mail...and that's it. The take-away is that there is big opportunity with this group. Marketers need to focus on relevance, because this group has money to spend and does so frequently.

The full whitepaper from ExactTarget can be downloaded here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com

RESEARCH BRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

 

Monday, November 3, 2008

 

Record Audiences to Newspaper Web Sites

 

According to a custom analysis by Nielsen Online for the Newspaper Association of America, newspaper web sites attracted more than 68.3 million unique visitors on average (41.4% of all Internet users) in the third quarter of 2008, a record number that reflects a 15.8% increase over the same period a year ago,

In addition, newspaper Web site visitors generated an average of just over 3.5 billion page views per month throughout the quarter, an increase of 25.2% over the same period a year ago (2.8 billion page views). These figures are the highest for any quarter since NAA began tracking the data in 2004.

NAA President and CEO, John F. Sturm, said "... record audiences are trusting newspaper Web sites for comprehensive, up-to-the-minute reporting and analysis on the events that impact their lives... newspapers are the top local brands that readers turn to for information... (to) help (with) challenging issues... "

The third quarter also set records for active reach percentage (the percentage of active Internet users that visit newspapers on an average month), page views, pages per person, time per person and visits per person.

Randy Bennett, NAA's senior vice president of Audience and New Business Development, concludes that "The dramatic increase in page views suggests users are visiting newspaper Web sites frequently throughout the day."

Third Quarter 2008 Newspaper Online Audience
Month	Unique Audience	Active Reach Percentage	Page Views	Pages per person	Time Per Person (mm:ss)	Visits Per Person
July-08	67,952,516	41.21	3,410,220,416	50.19	44:19	8.48
Aug-08	69,313,361	41.52	3,421,605,140	49.36	43:18	8.52
Sept-08	67,703,978	41.53	3,686,180,159	54.45	49:20	9.20
Q3 Average	68,323,285	41.42	3,506,001,905	51.33	45:49	8.73
Source: Nielsen Online Custom Analysis

 

Third Quarter 2007 Newspaper Online Audience
Month	Unique Audience	Active Reach Percentage	Page Views	Pages per person	Time Per Person (mm:ss)	Visits Per Person
July-07	59,635,245	37.05	2,735,019,015	45.86	40:07	8.00
Aug-07	59,278,593	37.42	2,828,613,489	47.72	41:52	8.22
Sept-07	58,160,770	36.96	2,836,328,492	48.77	43:44	8.15
Q3 Average	59,024,869	37.14	2,799,986,999	47.45	41:54	8.12
Source: Nielsen Online Custom Analysis

For additional information from the NAA, please visit here.

For more information visit www.mediapost.com