January 2010 Archives

MEDIAPOST NEWS

MEDIA DAILY

Canada's equivalent to the Television Bureau of Advertising released data Thursday from a biometric study showing that TV is notably more effective in prompting ad recall than radio or online ads.

The research showed that TV spots produced "aided next-day recall" that was three times higher than radio ads, five times higher than with online display ads, and a lesser 1.4 times greater than online video ads.

The study using biometric research that tracked reactions such as heart rate and skin sweat, and included 100 adults 18 to 49. It was conducted by Innerscope, and 24 national brands were included.

Participants viewed TV ads appearing in a 30-minute episode of "Two and a Half Men"; listened to radio ads during 15 minutes of tune-in to a Toronto FM radio station; and saw online ads while surfing a Canadian MSN site for 15 minutes. They were also exposed to ads while reading a Vancouver newspaper for 30 minutes.

Dr. Carl Marci, Innerscope CEO, stated: "Each media type has its own strengths. Some appeal more cognitively, others more emotionally. The television environment appeals strongly to both -- leading to the high engagement levels seen in this study."

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Mediapost News

The Daily Online Examiner

Note To Facebook: Yes, Web Users DO Care About Privacy

By Wendy Davis, Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Earlier this month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg infamously said that Web users no longer cared about privacy. A new social norm had taken hold, he said. If he was going to launch Facebook again today, he would do so without the old settings that kept information hidden from outsiders.

Zuckerberg offered those remarks to justify the company's recent controversial change in privacy settings. Last December, the company changed its recommended default settings to share-everything-with-everyone for status updates, photos and other information. Additionally, Facebook also began classifying users' names, profile pictures, cities, gender, networks, list of friends and pages people are fans of as "publ icly available information."

It was another big miscalculation for a company that has stumbled time and again on privacy. Aside from the near-universal criticism by watchdogs like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Electronic Privacy Information Center, many Facebook users themselves appeared unhappy with the changes. Others, even if OK with the new settings in theory, are taking a keen interest in making sure they aren't themselves now sharing all data with everyone.

Consider, the most emailed story at The New York Times today -- and every day since it appeared in the Times on Jan. 20 -- is a ReadWriteWeb article, "The 3 Facebook Setting s Every User Should Check Now." The piece offers users practical advice about how to keep their photos and updates private and their information out of search engines.

If nothing else, the fact that many Times readers are still emailing that article one week after it first ran shows just how much of a concern privacy really is for Web users.

Additionally, research released today by the think tank Future of Privacy Foundation also shows that the majority of Web users feel their privacy is compromised online. The organization reported that 64% of 2,600 survey respondents said they agreed with the statement, "I feel that as a result of my visiting websites, my privacy has been invaded by others who collect data about me." While that survey dealt with behavioral targeting, and not information vo lunteered on social networking sites, the results still show that privacy matters.

Perhaps the next time Facebook is contemplating a change in terms, the company should commission some research, or just read some of the work that's already been done, before deciding that a new "social norm" justifies yet more privacy-unfriendly features.

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MEDIAPOST ONLINE

METRICS INSIDER

Audience Insights, Not Audience Measurement
by Stephen DiMarco , Tuesday, January 26, 2010

I find myself quoting Randall Rothenberg, Chairman of the IAB, more and more these days. Earlier this month, Randy proclaimed that "the Web has been colonized by the evil aliens of the direct-response planet." In saying this, he acknowledged what others have also felt for some time -- that the precision of online media is a both blessing and a curse for marketers. Left unchecked for way too long, online advertising has been overrun by tactics and success measures that are singularly suited for direct marketers and are not so effective for brand builders. Leads, click-throughs, downloads and/or page views may adequately measure a Netflix campaign, but holding Coke to the same standard just doesn't make sense.

Why is this important? Because without more proof that marketers can use online media fo r brand-building purposes, many of the world's largest advertisers will continue to sit on the digital sidelines. Armed with better insights, these advertisers can finally get in the game. It's also important because so many in the industry consider 2010 to be the end of the recession and therefore the renaissance of digital media. The point is, outsized growth in our market can only return once online media is shown to be an effective way to reach and engage consumers across all product categories (not just direct response).

Indeed, hope abounds. In its forecast of interactive marketing spending, Forrester reports that the industry will grow at 17% compounded annually over the next five years, compared to just 13% last year. While interactive spending represented net new dollars in most marketing bu dgets up until last year, going forward, nearly two-thirds of marketers indicated they will shift dollars away from direct mail and print toward digital media. But it is one thing to predict a spending increase, and something altogether different to confidently take online from 1% to 10% of your total media budget if you're a CPG marketer.

Yet this is exactly what needs to occur in order for Forrester's prediction to become a reality. Simply put, the online ecosystem needs packaged goods companies to move beyond experimentation and embrace the Web as a medium that they can use for brand advertising. By taking advantage of new insights into their online audiences, these companies can integrate digital into virtually every component of their marketing -- from strategy development, to media planning, to engaging and effective brand-building experiences (apologies to my television ad sales colleagues who were looking to pick up those print dollars).

Our work with clients clearly points to increased demand for new audience insights to help them spend more effectively online. Gone are the days when simple audience measurement tools were sufficient to plan and measure campaigns. Now brands are looking to define micro-audiences based on their interests and behaviors. Likewise, publishers are looking for deep audience data that describes consumer behaviors on and off of their sites. Audience insights eclipse audience measurement, providing new views into "who" and "what impact," versus simply counting "how many."

And there is a new crop of tools that have been designed to help buyers and sellers move beyond audience measurement to tap richer audience insights. Tools like Google Ad Planner, Quantcast, Comscore Direct and Compete's new offerings with Fox Audience Network and WPP Digital's Media Innovation Group all provide new audience insights that can be used for media planning and measurement (some of these services are free). All of these tools combine consumer panels and sophisticated analytics platforms to describe consumers in ways that other approaches can't match, including rich demographics, longitudinal behaviors and interests, and offline buying behaviors. With this kind of technology under the hood, all brands will benefit from new insights to market online.

It is difficult to imagine a future where P&G, Unilever, and other large brands don't allocate more dollars to digital media. While the pace and scope of this increase remains to be seen, we do know that each 1% shift from traditional to online translates into hundreds of millions of dollars. And this is a benefit shared across marketers, publishers and consumers. By introducing measurement and metrics that are more relevant to brand advertisers, we can ensure the next phase of digital growth (and save Randy from alien abduction).

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MEDIAPOST NEWS

ONLINE MEDIA DAILY

The text message campaign to aid American Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti has brought in a torrent of donations -- totaling about $30 million to date. In the last few weeks, the "Text HAITI to 90999" campaign has gone viral via social properties like Twitter and Facebook and has gotten a boost from celebrities and President Obama himself.

Now a group of mobile ad companies are joining forces to broaden awareness of the text donation initiative launched by Mobile Accord, the Denver company that runs mgive.com and serves as a financial clearinghouse between wireless carriers and nonprofits like the Red Cross.

Through the latest push, mobile ad networks and technology companies including AdMob, Eyeblaster, Jumptap, Microsoft Advertising, Millennial Media and Ringleader Digital are donating time and ad-serving fees to deliver banner ads with details on donating to the Red Cross and featuring the shortcode to add a $10 contribution to their bill.

The ads are running on mobile sites donating inventory for the campaign, including MSN Mobile, Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger Mobile and E! Online. The campaign is expected to last for at least the next several weeks.

"Our approach with the mobile Web is to reach consumers who may not have been reached yet through other media," said Bob Walczak, CEO of Ringleader Digital. "The best thing we can do is get word out to as many places as possible."

He added that the mobile ad companies are also working with Mobile Accord to have a process in place to promote mobile donations in future disaster relief efforts. "This campaign took a few days to launch and we'd like to make that happen faster in the future, in under 24 hours," said Walczak.

Wireless operators such as Verizon Wireless have taken steps to speed the flow of text donations to Haiti. It typically takes up to 90 days for money donated via text messages to reach a charity. But carriers are bypassing normal financial and accounting procedures to help donations get to victims more quickly.

MEDIAPOST NEWS

MARKETING DAILY

Loyalty programs represent a large and growing portion of marketing budgets. But according to a new report from the CMO Council, relatively few companies are fully delivering the elements that are most important in acquiring and keeping participants engaged.

The council surveyed 700 consumers, as well as 600 marketers. About 75% of consumers reported enrollment in supermarket loyalty programs, 71% in airline frequent flier clubs, and 60% in credit card incentive programs, with smaller percentages reporting enrollment in other types of programs.

Consumers clearly confirmed that relevant, valued rewards -- meaning rewards that match their individual preferences and are easily redeemable -- along with relevant, personalized communications, are the most important factors in driving loyalty program participation and satisfaction.

The good news: 78% indicated being "very or pretty" satisfied with their program experiences. However, 70% said they want more discounts/savings, 44% want better deals/offers and 39% want free products/premiums for patronizing program operators. Moreover, 56% said they want more compelling personal benefits and services, as well as more relevant offers/individualized deals.

The program turnoffs most cited by consumers were too much spam and "junk mail" (43%), difficulties in redeeming points/miles (38%) and too many conditions/restrictions (38%). Insufficient value in rewards/membership, and insufficient personalization of communications and service, were also high on the complaints list.

Marketers aren't unaware of consumer priorities. Nearly 40% said that they view discounts/savings as the key member benefits, 34% said that they view free products/premiums as essential incentives, and 33% indicated that their companies are offering points for merchandise redemption as added motivators. Asked to cite common consumer complaints about loyalty programs, marketers' answers paralleled those of consumers.

Nearly 64% of marketers view loyalty programs as essential or very valuable to the marketing mix, and 80% are committed to maintaining or increasing program funding. Yet, 46% acknowledged that acquiring and maintaining motivated participants is their biggest loyalty program challenge, and only 15% view their programs as highly effective at leveraging member loyalty/brand preference.

Feeling thwarted by obstacles to delivering sufficiently personalized loyalty rewards and communications is a root problem, the research indicates. Aside from acquisition/retention, marketers' most-cited loyalty program obstacles/issues include measuring marketing value and effectiveness (42%); collecting, integrating and maintaining customer data (41%); deriving valuable insight and intelligence (38%); delivering more personalized offers and inducements (35%); and creating more customized communications (33%).

Nearly 73% of marketers' companies collect basic demographics and 68% track members' locations, but roughly one-third or fewer track factors such as members' product/personal preferences, satisfaction levels and brand loyalty.

Tellingly, there is a "chasm" between where companies are focusing communications/marketing investments and how members actually learn about loyalty programs, stresses CMO Council VP, programs and operations, Liz Miller.

Nearly 60% of marketers rely on Web sites, 58% on email, 47% on word-of-mouth, 46% on point-of-sale information, 41% on direct mail and 38% on sales/service reps. Cost-effective email is the channel preferred by 84% of marketers, followed by print mailings/statements (52%), corporate Web sites, dedicated club sites (32%), SMS text messaging (24%) and social networks (16%).

Meanwhile, 65% of consumers said they acquire program information via point-of-sale messaging at retail, versus 10% via online advertising and 3% via social media networks or blogs.

The real issue is not that companies aren't collecting customer data -- it's that marketers "feel paralyzed by lack of access to integrated, real-time, usable data" due to internal functional and/or IT infrastructure silos, says Sandra Zoratti, SVP marketing for Ricoh/IBM joint venture InfoPrint Solutions Company, which sponsored the research.

There is no question that companies must develop the capabilities to effectively deliver customized rewards and relevant, multichannel communications based on member transactions and contacts, says Zoratti. But instead of remaining paralyzed by internal customer data challenges, marketers can improve their programs by focusing on the rudiments.

"If you don't have enough individual member preference information, do a survey -- then concentrate on doing what's necessary to deliver the rewards and relevant, compelling communications that your members want most," she advises.

For more information see www.mediapost.com

MEDIAPOST NEWS

ONLINE MEDIA DAILY

In a week when Google promoted its Twitter feed on its heavily trafficked home page, a top digital marketing expert said he expects social networks to offer more robust search capabilities soon. In addition to an improved consumer experience, search can be a notable revenue generator for Twitter and Facebook, particularly if it allows swift discovery of what a person's friends are discussing or even buying.

"More searches are going to start to be done inside social networks," said Steve Rubel, director of insights at Edelman. "Social networks are going to start to make it easier for you to search content at point of information."

Referencing the paid-search model, Rubel called it a "tremendous monetization opportunity."

"(If) people can search what friends are sharing, it can create money," he said Thursday at the Direct Marketing Association's Social Media Spotlight event.

Friend information "creates a layer of trust on top of search, which is very powerful," he added. Word-of-mouth, after all, is well-noted as the premiere marketing vehicle.

Still, as Rubel looked ahead, he said he believes Facebook will be around in a decade, but he's less sure about Twitter as the online communication world turns over rapidly. He also said he thinks the Google Wave tool that has been generating some excitement has some kinks that have not yet been ironed out.

As Rubel offered thoughts on social media, he addressed the much-discussed topic of the future of email marketing. What's known as "email bankruptcy" -- where a person deletes all unread emails in one swoop -- is apparently growing.

"People who declare bankruptcy have a theory," Rubel said, "that if there's something really important in there, someone will contact you again."

Nevertheless, Rubel said "all roads still go through email" -- notably, it serves as a seed for social networking. Separately, Rubel told marketers in attendance there is no sense in trying to identify the next Twitter. Instead, focus on the trends, and monitor consumer behavior.

"Trends are sometimes harder to see, but you also have a lot more time to pivot early and take advantage of them," he said.

MEDIAPOST NEWS

MARKETING NEWS DAILY

Consumers are willing to pay more for a variety of products that are environmentally friendly and sustainable -- better known as "green," according to a Burst Media study.

The survey revealed that 90% of respondents have incorporated some level of greenness into their daily lives -- 8.8% are completely green, while most are aspirationally green. To help lead green lives, respondents cite the Internet as the best source of information on green products and practices.

The trend of green consumers turning to the Internet poses an "incredible" opportunity for marketers, says Chuck Moran, chief marketing officer for Burlington, Mass.-based Burst Media.

"Green consumers -- in varying shades -- abound on the Internet," Moran tells Marketing Daily. "Advertisers who are marketing 'green' products online should recognize that the concept of 'green' cannot be communicated to consumers with a single concept, as it means very different things for different people.

"As marketers approach the Web with their green messaging, it is important to recognize that consumers have varying messaging cues that need to be addressed. Avoid confusion and be sure your messaging is clear and direct. Lastly, make use of the interactive nature of the Web with creative executions and rich media that users can interact with to gather more information about green products."

Administered in late December to more than 1,500 adults, the survey revealed that people are willing to pay a premium for products they know are made out of green or environmentally friendly, organic materials. Not surprisingly, aspirationally green and 100% green consumers are the most willing to pay a premium.

The aspirationally green consumers are most willing to pay a premium for food and household products they know to be earth-friendly, including produce (66.6%), juices and other bottled drinks (61.1%), household cleaners (59.2%), laundry detergents (58.7%), and packaged food (58.2%). Meanwhile, among the 100% green respondents, over 80% are willing to pay a premium for all product categories, including food, garden/landscaping supplies (84.4%), home improvement supplies (84.0%), bedding (83.3%), and health and beauty products (82.0%).

More than one-third (39.4%) of respondents turn to the Web for information on green products and practices, followed by TV (18.4%), friends and family (9.2%), newspapers (7.1%), magazines (6.5%) and books (4.6%). While men search for information on alternative energy and green technologies, women look for healthy recipes, recycling, simple living, and natural remedies.

More than half (56.6%) of all respondents believe that to some extent, advertising claims that promote a product as environmentally friendly. However, 25% do not believe the claims -- or find them confusing or misleading -- and only 10% say they never believe green claims made in an advertisement. Two-thirds (67.5%) of aspirationally green respondents believe green claims in advertising, compared to 58.2% of "completely green" respondents, and 32.3% of respondents who are not green at all.

Women in all key age segments are more likely than men to purchase a product that is advertised as environmentally friendly. However, men still lead women in being completely green -- 12.1% versus 5.3%, respectively.

The study reveals a distinct difference in the motivation to go green between those who are aspirational and those self-identified as 100% green. While aspirational greens clearly point to working for a better environment (61.3%) as the reason for incorporating green behaviors into their daily lives, only 38.1% of 100% greens point to this cause. Among respondents who are completely green, reasons include "to live a better quality of life" (36.6%), good for the community (35.4%), desire to make a difference (32.9%), and to set an example for others to follow (31.5%). Among this segment, being green identifies a lifestyle rather than personal activity.

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MEDIAPOST NEWS

ONLINE MEDIA DAILY

"Conversationalist" could become the next important target for marketers looking to connect with consumers.

A Forrester Research study released Tuesday shows that one in every three online Americans is a "Conversationalist," someone who updates their status on a social networking site such as Facebook or posts updates on Twitter at least once weekly.

Conversationalists are younger than the average adult consumer -- 56% female, with household incomes slightly above average and more likely than other social classifications to hold a college degree.

And they're not just young people. Seventy percent are ages 30 or older. In fact, 36% are 18 to 29; 37% are 30 to 43; 14% are 44 to 53; 9% are 54 to 64; and 4% are 65 and older.

Age has become less of an important factor. The day has come when grandma searches the Internet for goods and services, and now she's making her way to social networks, says Josh Bernoff, senior vice president at Forrester Research.

While the average Conversationalist is eight years younger than the average online adult, two-thirds of Conversationalists are older than 29, and one-fourth are older than 44. Conversationalists tend to sit between Creators and Critics.

Where the Creators publish a blog or Web pages, and upload videos and music they created, Critics post ratings and reviews of products and services, comment on someone else's blog, or contribute to online forums and edit articles in a wiki.

Only about 17% of U.S. adults don't participate in online social media, and 59% of online consumers participate in social networks about once monthly.

Overall, people have become more willing to share personal information. "I don't think it's a carefully considered decision to share information," Bernoff says. "People just get sucked in."

Bernoff, the lead author for the report "Introducing The New Social Technographics," attributes the increase to friends inviting friends to participate in social networks, and the news media's attention. After the twelfth article read that mentions Twitter, people might want to go and try the service, he says.

Older adults have begun to adopt social networks at a much more rapid pace. Age had historically been the best predictor for whether people participate in social activities. The younger the age, the more likely they will participate. This is not the case any longer.

Young people are still the most active, but all age groups are participating. Bernoff says the best marketers can do is look at the frequency with which people update their status, rather than classify someone by age.

And while participation in social networks continues to rise, chatter in discussion forums has begun to decline. People are moving the conversation into social media and out of traditional forums.

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MEDIAPOSTNEWS

AROUND THE NET IN ONLINE MEDIA

RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Mark Nesbitt, President, TNS Media Intelligence,  "... although 'shopper marketing' tactics are still evolving, FSIs have clearly emerged as a key component of manufacturer and retailer aligned promotion programs... manufacturers are using corporate scale FSI coupon events... to break through the promotion clutter... "

During 2009, more than $385 billion in consumer incentives were delivered via FSI coupons, up 15.0% from 2008.  However, Average Expiration (Fuse) remained below ten weeks with a decrease to 9.3 weeks, down 3.9% versus a year ago.  Manufacturers are delivering more offers of greater value to the consumer, but are managing their financial exposure by reducing the length of time that these offers are available in the market.    

The Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sector remained as the largest user of FSI pages with a 71.5% share, followed by Direct Response, which includes general advertis ing activity, and Franchise, comprised of restaurants, portrait studios, and other businesses. 

Retailer promotion pages increased 37.7% to more than 9.0 billion pages in 2009.  Target continued to lead with more than 1.8 billion pages, up 43.9% versus 2008.  Dollar General increased 386.2% to more than 885 million pages to rank third during 2009.  These trends reflect the overall growth of retailer promo tion within traditional FSI vehicles.

During 2009, there were 388 new products that delivered FSI coupons across 788 event dates as part of their introduction, averaging 2.0 event dates per new product.  This activity is up from 334 new products, 635 event dates, and 1.9 event dates per new product during 2008. 

In 2009, Non-Food categories distributed more than 160.9 billion coupons, up 5.3% versus a year ago, driven by the 7.7% increase within the Personal Care area.  Food cate gories distributed 111.6 billion coupons, representing an increase of 12.4%, led by the 7.8% increase for the Dry Grocery area. 

Additionally, manufacturers are increasing the value of the offers being delivered to consumers in both the Non-Food and Food segments.  Weighted average face value for Non-Food increased 7.4% to $1.73 and was combined with a 0.8 point decrease in multiple purchase requirements resulting in weighted average face value per unit increasing 8.1% to $1.54. These changes appear to be a response to economic pressures to increase the perceived consumer value of each offer relative to retail price, concludes the report.

The top 10 product types based on Coupons Dropped accounted for 34.8% of all FSI coupon activity during 2009.   Combination/Personal products (comprised of Perso nal Care brands which are promoted across multiple individual Personal Care categories) ranked first and increased 7.5% to distribute more than 13.3 billion coupons.

For additional information about this study, please visit Tnsmi-Marx here.

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MEDIAPOSTNEWS

MEDIA Daily News

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MediaPostNews

ONLINE MEDIA DAILY

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MediaPostNews

ONLINE MEDIA DAILY

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RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Monday, January 11, 2010

In addition to broad changes in vacation spending, nearly 3 out of 10 Americans plan to spend less on airline flights specifically in 2010 than they did in 2009, while 16% say they will spend more, and about half say they will spend about the same. The same pattern is seen for hotel stays, with 30% planning to spend less and 16% planning to spend more.

According to the poll, there is little variation in Americans' 2010 travel spending intentions according to household income. All income groups, ranging from those earning $75,000 or more, to those earning less than $30,000, plan to spend less rather than more in each travel area.

Some meaningful differences are evident by age, with young adults expressing the greatest likelihood of increasing their travel expenditures. This is seen most clearly when asked about spending on vacations in general, as this is the one area where a higher percentage of those aged 18 to 34 plan to spend more rather than less (30% vs. 25%). By contrast, adults 35 to 54 and 55 and older are more likely to say they will spend l ess in each area, not more.

The spending intentions of young adults are a bit less robust relative to airline travel and hotel stays than they are for vacations. Roughly equal percentages plan to spend more rather than less on airline travel, while a slightly higher percentage plan to spend less rather than more on hotel stays. Still, the spending intentions of young adults are greater than those of older adults in all three areas.

The report concludes by noting that it may be no surprise that when Americans are asked to look ahead to their vacation, airline ticket, and hotel spending next year, they are at least slightly more likely to say they will be spending less than they spent this year rather than more.

However, consumer attitudes about their overall travel spending in 2010 may differ from how they ultimately behave. Indeed, the latest government report on travel and tourism reports a significant rebound in U.S. travel spending in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the same period a ye ar ago, reflecting increases in both business and leisure travel. This coincides with an increase in the U.S. gross domestic product more generally and is likely to extend through the fourth quarter. If so, the current data may simply, but importantly, indicate that Americans remain vigilant about their spending and therefore that airlines, hotels, and resorts will have to continue pushing major discounts and package deals in order to attract consumers' travel dollars.

Results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error in this study is ±4 percentage points, says Gallup.

Please visit Gallup here for additional information.

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MediaPost's

ENGAGE HISPANICS

By Jose Villa Thursday, January 7, 2010

Well, frankly, while I no doubt realize that 2010 will bring numerous evolutionary changes to the Hispanic advertising and media world, I believe 2011 will result in far more disruptive and revolutionary change. Why?

First, Hispanic marketing trends usually follow trends in the general market. While these changes historically lag by three to five years, media and marketing technology have shortened that gap to one to three years. So the transformational changes that have aff ected mainstream advertising and media will bear their full brunt on our industry by 2011.

In addition, by the end of 2010, U.S. Hispanic Internet penetration is on pace to reach almost 70%, once and for all ending the debate about whether the Internet is a Hispanic mass marketing medium.

Finally, the 2010 Census results will be out in early 2011 and will no doubt bring increased attention to the Hispanic market because the numbers will be big. This attention will not all be good, as I addressed in a blog a few months back, because in addition to more advertiser activity, it will translate into more competition from general market agencies attempting to service the market.

2011 Trends

Erosion of Spanish TV's Prominence Although Spanish-language TV has managed to avoid the fate of its general market counterparts, trends such as online video (note the popularity of novelas on YouTube), the trend toward "on-demand" and DVR time-adjusted consumption will eventually impact Spanish TV. More importantly, the value of the big two's (Univision and Telemundo) content will begin to be "crowded out" by competition from cable, mobile and Internet video options and cheaper access to home country content on all three of the aforementioned platforms.

Polarization of the Hispanic Acculturation Model Most Hispanic marketing strategies are built on the foun dation of the familiar three-part Hispanic acculturation model (unacculturated, partially acculturated and acculturated). While this model will continue to be valid, it will become increasingly polarized as the differences among the three segments increase, particularly in relation to demographics and media preference. The coming "tsunami" of U.S.-born young Hispanics (in 10 years, 62% of all teens will be Hispanic) will only exacerbate the differences that will exist among the various segments.

Shift in Emphasis from Traditional to Digital Channels Ultimately, clients make the decision as to where budgets are spent, and their increasing preference to go digital in the general market will carry over to their Hispanic advertising efforts. I'm already starting to see Hispanic digital reviews, especially as clients focus on targeting specific Hispani c segments, trading reach for deeper engagement. Hispanic direct response activity will also migrate to the Web, particularly as Hispanic digital performance channels eat away at traditional options (DRTV, direct mail, etc.).

Mobile Marketing Although mobile marketing's arrival has been prematurely announced for the last five years, its undeniable growth in 2010 will finally reveal the full potential for using mobile to reach Hispanics in 2011. In fact, mobile will likely start to replace local print media consumption (newspaper readership), and opportunities with couponing, QR codes and apps will make Hispanic mobile marketing the fastest growing segment in Hispanic media by the end of 2011.

The "Second Offensive" of the Genera l Market Agencies As mentioned above, the 2010 Census results will help drive a new wave of interest in Hispanic advertising, both among marketers and general market ad agencies looking to continue to grow. Just like the lines between traditional and digital agencies were beginning to blur in 2009, by 2011 the lines between general market and multicultural marketing will become hazy, much to the dismay of specialist Hispanic shops.

Social Media Takes Center Stage To borrow a phrase from Adweek, social media will "be like air" and a part of all things advertising. This will be the case in Hispanic advertising, as the over-indexing of Hispanics on social media should provide the "writing on the wall." However, like in the general market, clients will start to take social media programs "in-house," especially those focused on crea ting and managing communities.

Other Hispanic Media Will Experience Differing Fates While Hispanic TV and print will suffer as a result of trends toward digital, radio and OOH have an opportunity to emerge stronger than ever and evolve with changes in technology.

Arrival of New Media Platforms Once gaming companies (gaming networks, online games, game developers, etc.) adopt more sophisticated demographic tracking capabilities, they will introduce a promising new media channel to reach Hispanic gamers of all ages and types. GPS-enabled marketing, which should come of age in mainstream marketing in 2010, will be poised to open new doors to reaching Hispanics in 2011.

People will Talk about the "Good Old Days" of 2008 and before As with the general market advertising industry, overall ad spending will take a long time to return to its pre-recession peaks. In the case of Hispanic media spending, those 2008 numbers won't be seen again for a long time.

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RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Thursday, January 7, 2010

According to the Compete quarterly Smartphone Intelligence survey, smartphone owners are more comfortable buying from their handsets, but still have some site functionality problems. 8% of smartphone owners that tried to purchase a product on their device were unable to do so. 45% of those that abandoned the process reported that they did so because the site would not load, and an additional 38% left the site because it was not developed specifically for smartphone users.

Danielle Nohe, director of consumer technologies for Compete, points out that "... smartphone use is no longer limited to an exclusive group of tech savvy consumers. As... people grow more comfortable transacting, site owners must redesign around mobile shopping ease-of-use... "

Nonetheless, says the report, mobile commerce (m-commerce) is ready to explode in 2010. But Nohe cautions that marketers recognize the differences that vary by individual and device. For instance, he says &quo t;We're seeing notable behavior differences across devices... (as) users of the Android operating system share different characteristics than Blackberry and iPhone enthusiasts."

Key findings from Compete's Q3 2009 Smartphone Intelligence survey include:

• 37% of smart phone owners have purchased something non-mobile with their handset in the past 6 months
• 19% of total smartphone owners have purchased music from their device, 14% have purchased books, DVDs, or video games and 12% have purchased movie tickets
• 40% of Android owners and 51% of Blackberry owners would spend $500 or more to buy a product from their mobile phone, compared to 9% of iPhone owners
• The most popular mobile shopping-related activities are research related: 41% of iPhone users and 43% of Android users are most likely to check sale prices at alternative locations from their mobile phones while they are shopping
• The second most likely activity is accessing consumer reviews, with 39% of iPhone owners and 31% of Android owners investigating reviews from their handset before they purchase
• While m-commerce is poised for explosive growth in 2010, consumers are still more likely to abandon mobile purchasing on sites that are not optimized for the on-the-go experience, similar to shopping cart abandonment in the early days of e-commerce.

Compete's Smartphone Intelligence combines consumer insights with behavioral data to reveal how smartphone owners are using their phones.

For additional information about this study, please visit here.

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RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

The Consumer Confidence Survey, recently released by The Conference Board and TNS, based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households, rose again in December. The Index now stands at 52.9 (1985=100), up from 50.6 in November. The Expectations Index increased to 75.6 from 70.3 last month. The Present Situation Index, however, declined to 18.8 from 21.2 in November.

Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, says that "... expectations for the short-term future increased to the highest level in two years... The Present Situation Index, however... remains at a 26-year low... A more optimistic outlook for business and labor market conditions was the driving force behind the increase in the Expectations Index... however, consumers remain rather pessimistic about their short-term (income) prospects and this will likely continue to play a key role in spending decisions in early 2010."

Consumers' assessment of current-da y conditions declined further in December:

• Those claiming business conditions are "bad" increased to 46.6% from 44.5%
• Those claiming conditions are "good" decreased to 7.0% from 8.1%
• Those claiming jobs are "hard to get" decreased to 48.6% from 49.2%
• Those claiming jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 2.9% from 3.1%.

Consumers' short-term outlook improved in December. Those anticipating business conditions will improve over the next six months increased to 21.3% from 19.7%, while those expecting conditions will worsen decreased to 11.9% from 14.6%.

The outlook for the labor market was also more upbeat. The percentage of consumers expecting more jobs to become available in the months ahead increased to 16.2% from 15.8%, while those expecting fewer jobs decreased to 20.7% from 23.1%. The proportion of consumers anticipating an increase in their incomes decreased to 10.3% from 10.9%.

Several other recent future-looking consumer indices also demonstrate hope for a better 2010 on the part of US consumers, reports Marketing Charts. The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI), which measures economic activity for the next six months, increased 0.9%, from 104 to 104.9, in November 2009. This follows a 0.3% increase in October and 1.2% increase in September, and marks the LEI's eighth straight month of growth following 20 straight months of decline.

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index (CEI), which measures current economic activity, increased 0.2%, from 99.9 to 100.1, following flat performance in October and a fractional decrease in September. A score of 100 marks the performance level of both the LEI and CEI in 2004.

The Deloitt e Consumer Spending Index, which attempts to track consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending, rose 8.9% in November 2009, following a 15.7% jump in October and an 11.6% hike in September 2009.

In addition, the American Express Spending & Saving Tracker indicates that in the next 30 days, 32% of consumers will spend more than they did in the last 30 days, and another 33% will spend the same as they did in the last 30 days. A majority of these consumers are spending the same or more due to holiday shopping-related expenses.

To read the Conference Board report, please vi sit here, and for the Marketing Charts summary, go here.

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RESEARCHBRIEF

FROM THE CENTER FOR MEDIA RESEARCH

Monday, January 4, 2010

Companies that view themselves as the most green spend the most on green marketing, observes the report, while those that see themselves as least green spend just a fraction of their marketing budgets on such tactics. Marketers are backing up their beliefs of the compa ny's level of "greenness" with marketing campaigns, rather than creating green campaigns to be part of the trend. The research suggests that management first buys into "greenness" and, later, green marketing, rather than beginning green marketing efforts simply out of a desire to appear green.

71% of firms indicated that they were in the "somewhat green" to "very green" categories, but they tended to believe their customer base thinks them less green than they really arr. This belief is persistent among the respondents, and may indicate why green marketing is on the rise.

Here are some of the key findings explained in the study:

82% of respondents indicated they expect to spend more on green marketing in the future. Among manufacturers, that number is significantly higher. At least half, if not more, of respondents plan to engage in o nline marketing efforts in the future.

28% of marketers themselves think green marketing is more effective than other marketing messages, compared to 6% of marketers who think it is less effective. Management is even more optimistic, with 46% of them indicating a belief that green marketing is more efficacious. Just 23% of those in operations think green marketing is more effective.

Companies with smaller marketing budgets tend to spend more on green marketing. Firms with a marketing budget of under $250,000 spend just over 26% on green marketing, while those with budgets of more than $50 million spend 6% on green marketing.

The most popular medium for green marketing was the internet, with 

• 74.2% of respondents having spent money online, followed by
• Print (49.8% 
• Direct (40%)
• Outdoor (7%)
• Radio and TV (7%)
• Mobi le (6%)

29% of marketers with budgets between $10 million and $50 million, and 25% of those with budgets of more than $50 million, used outdoor, compared to 7.3% for all marketers. 

Mobile was also a popular medium for marketers with the highest budgets:

• 14% of those in the $10 million to $50 million budget category spent money on mobile
• 16% in the more than $50 million budget category spent money on mobile
• Compared to 6% for all marketers

Those firms that used the most trackable media are also those that said green marketing worked better than the average marketing message.

• 48% of respondents who employed direct marketing in their media mix said that it was more or much more effective, much like those who used internet (43%)
• That contrasts with those respondents who had employed TV, 25% of whom said it was more effective than average, indicating that green marketing works better than those who don't or can't measure results think it does.

Direct-oriented media showed the more positive results when asked if customers would pay more for green products or to a green company:

• Of the people who used the two least trackable media, TV and outdoor, only 29% and 25% respectively indicated that customers would pay more
• That compares to 44%, 42% and 46% for internet, print and direct respectively

Larger companies are more likely to target employees rather than customers:

• Companies with media budgets of more than $10 million annually showed a much higher proclivity to have their own employees as their target audience, with customers being targeted in only 70% of their efforts
• Firms with budgets less than $250,000 were about 80% more likely to target customers directly, and only about half targeted their own staff

50% of marketers themselves indicate they have complete or consultative control of green marketing, while 57% of PR folks say that have control of the sustainability program. Sales and operations, on the other hand, are skeptical that marketers have so much control of the sustainability programs, with just 41% and 21% respectively saying control lies in the hands of marketers. However, those in management tended to agree that control of the sustainability program is in the hands of marketers, at 50%.

About half of companies reported that they are consciously taking steps to become more green. The most popular actions are: 

• Conserving energy in operations, at 59%
• Changing products to reflect greener values (such as changing ingredients, packag ing or intended use), at 54%

And the Executive Summary observes that nearly half of respondents said the decision-makers at their companies hold green marketing in high regard, compared to just 15% who hold it in low regard. Companies with decision-makers who have a low regard for green marketing tend to be those with the larger marketing budgets between $10 million and $50 million per year, where more than a quarter indicated that their decision-makers held green marketing in low regard. Smaller companies, concludes the report, may believe green marketing to be more effective than larger companies do.

To read a brief summary, visit mediabuyerplanner here, or to purchase your copy of the report or acquire a data license, please visit here. 

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