Business Research
Recently published intelligence related to mobile and Internet business strategy
Study: Ad Networks Have Their Place, But Content Drives Key Brand Metrics
From MediaPost:
While ad networks continue to garner the
glory, media buys across branded content sites, or properties like
iVillage and Discovery that fall under the Online Publishers
Association (OPA)'s umbrella, are often still priced at a premium. And
according to new OPA research, those higher-priced CPMs are justified,
as branded content sites have a greater impact on key metrics like
brand favorability and purchase intent than ad networks, portals and
even Internet industry norms (as determined by Dynamic Logic's
MarketNorms).
"We're not saying ad networks or portals are bad," said OPA President Pam Horan. "There's a place for them within the media plan. But the environment that an ad is placed in is key, particularly when it comes to driving decisions that are further down in the purchase process."
For example, ads that ran across branded content sites raised brand favorability 22% more than the same ads did across portals. In terms of purchase intent, ads on branded content sites lifted the metric about 13% more than ads on portals did. And when compared with ad networks, ads that ran on branded content sites provided double the lift in both brand favorability and purchase intent.
The research also found that branded content sites tended to outpace industry norms, ad networks and portals for non-banner advertisements, including site sponsorship, video and rich media ads. Video ads that were placed on content sites, for example, were 82% more effective at raising aided brand awareness, and 67% more effective at raising brand favorability than the industry average.
Shocking! TV Programs Display Better on Televisions
According to new research conducted by The Nielsen Company, 94% of cable or satellite TV subscribers prefer to watch television programs on traditional TV sets rather than online.
That said, the research also found that TV Networks are having success in taking their shows online -- typically as an On-Demand alternative to scheduled broadcasts. 35% of the adult broadband users said they had watched at least one television program originally shown on TV via the Internet. Meanwhile, only 40% report using the Internet to learn about actors and upcoming episodes. Of those who sought out video content online:
- 87% watched television programs directly from a TV network Web site
- 82% of those who watched video content online said they went online to find a specific television program that they had missed when it first aired on TV.
Bill Houghton
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Teens Not as Web-Oriented as you Might Think
The latest update of OTX's study of teenage behavior has some unusual insights, as well as the usual descriptors as being heavy Web users, diverse in their individual interests and behaviors, and generally pretty sophisticated in their use of media.
The study did find that 24% of teens are spending more than 15 hours a week online and when all teens were asked how frequently they do typical online activities, instant messaging came up as the most frequent activity, followed by visiting social networking sites, email, searching, and visiting virtual community sites.
- 45% spent from 1 to less than 8 hours on line during a typical week
- 31% from 8 to less than 15
- 24% 15 hours and over
One interesting finding, teens actually gain value from the ads on Social Networking sites. According to the study, the average teen has signed up for over four social networking sites and currently belongs to two. Through advertising on these sites, the majority of teens learn about
The New Upper-Class Emerges in the U.S.
A recent report by Nielsen's Claritas Services shows that a new upper-class of Americans has emerged in recent years. Known as the New Mass Affluent, this new crop of wealthy Americans were born of the post-war boom, raised in middle-class suburbs, are college educated, and boosted their earning powers during years of economic prosperity in the bull market of the 1990s.
The new category represents 19 percent of all U.S. households. The study defines this emerging group as those households with incomes above $100,000 and income producing assets of $100,000 or more. They represent a wide variety of demographics -- including empty-nesters, workaholics, and bargain-hunters. In fact, one finding is that this group don't identify themselves as being wealthy -- despite their position at the top of the income food chain. They are typically very discerning shoppers and bargain hunters, as likely to shop at Costco as Tiffany's.
As a group, their numbers are rising: some 22 million households now earn over $100,000, a 23 percent increase from a decade ago after adjusting for inflation. The research confirms that, while median household income has moved sluggishly over the last decade, more people are joining the affluent class than ever before. Since 1997, median household income increased a modest 6.5 percent to $48,496 in inflation-adjusted dollars. By contrast, the number of households with an annual income of more than $100,000 jumped 23 percent to 21.7 million. No other income group grew as quickly.
VC Money Continues to Pour Into Social Networks
Article by MediaPost
Social media companies and ad networks continue to curry favor with investors, according to the latest M&A report from Petsky Prunier.
In the first half of 2008, VC firms and strategic investors pumped nearly $1.5 billion into social media companies and almost $760 million into ad networks and exchanges. Of course, the number is a little misleading, since a AOL's purchase of Bebo is included in the stats.
Even so, investments in the social media and user-generated content (UGC) space, which New York-based Petsky Prunier grouped in the Digital Media sector, nearly tripled from the first half of 2007. The deals ranged from double-digits, like the $35 million investment RockYou snagged from DCM, to the $850 million that AOL paid for Bebo. And despite the oft-publicized struggles by social media leaders like Facebook and News Corp.'s MySpace to monetize their audiences, it's likely that VC firms in particular will continue to fund development in the sector.
Mobile, on the other hand, suffered in the first half of the year. Holding companies and VC firms funneled just $80 million into mobile marketing firms in the first half of 2008, down from $291 million last year.
Bill Houghton
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Wealthy Consumers Dramatically Increase on Social Networks
Article by MediaPost
According to The Luxury Institute's latest WealthSurvey, the participation of wealthy online consumers in social networks dramatically increased to 60% in 2008, from 27% in 2007. Participation levels of online wealthy consumers in leading social networks are 16% for MySpace, 13% for LinkedIn, and 11% for Facebook.
A national sample of 805 wealthy American consumers, with an average income of $287K and average net worth of $2.1 million, was surveyed online. According to the report:
- The wealthy average membership in 2.8 social networks, with an average of 110 connections.
- They are intolerant of opt-out techniques, with 65% saying that having their personal data given out without permission would cause them to disconnect; 63% have an interest in "do not track" lists.
Bill Houghton
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One-Third of Adults View Online Video at Home
According to new consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, 31% of adults online at home report that they view video online at least weekly, including 10% who view video online daily. This compares to 25% of those online who viewed video online at least once a week last year. However, increases in online video usage over the past year were primarily among younger individuals, a group that watches video online far more frequently than others.
- Among all individuals ages 18-34, 42% report that they watch video online at home at least weekly - up from 28% last year
- Among all individuals ages 35 and above, 15% watch video online at home at least weekly - compared to 13% last year
- Men ages 18-34 account for 40% of those who view video online on a daily basis, while comprising just 17% of online subscribers in the sample
Based on a survey of 1,250 households nationwide, as part of the LRG study Emerging Video Services II, other key findings include:
- 9% of those who watch video online strongly agree that they now watch TV less often
- 52% of online video users typically spend ten minutes or less when they view online video at home
- 9% of all online watched a recent episode of a TV show online in the past week
- Among all online, just 4% strongly agree that they would consider disconnecting their TV service to only watch video online
Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, says "Online video is emerging as a medium unto itself… Not necessarily…an alternative to traditional TV viewing…"
Bill Houghton
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Older Web Surfers Think The Web Is Tailored To The Young
Internet visitors young and old consume vast amounts of online content. But how well is this demand for content is being met for various age segments? According to a study by Burst Media, online content providers are not meeting the needs of all age segments.
- A majority of Internet users 45 years and older believe online content is focused on younger age segments.
- Web users seek more content outlets by visiting more websites in a typical week of web surfing compared to one year ago.
Overall, a majority (52.0%) of respondents believe Internet content is primarily focused toward people their own age. However, this overall result does not paint a complete picture of the state of online content. In fact, survey results show significant differences in the evaluation of online content by age segments.
Bill Houghton
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IP Set Top Market Doubled in 2007: In-Stat
Article provided by Tekrati
The IP set top box market almost doubled in 2007 as more boxes were needed to supply new subscribers that telcos added to their TV services, reports In-Stat. The impact of these subscribers on the set top market was enhanced due to the fact that most North American subscribers need multiple boxes.
North America was one of the fastest growing regions, as AT&T ramped up the pace of installations throughout the year, the high-tech market research firm says.
“IP set top box hardware features are now stable, with the exception of the integration of home-networking technologies,” says Michelle Abraham, In-Stat analyst. “New features will come in software, rather than hardware, in the future.”
More Than Half of Americans Never Read Political Blogs: Harris
Republican Blog Readers More Likely Than Democrats to Believe Blogs are More Accurate and Valuable Than Mainstream Media
For every political persuasion, it seems like there is at least a handful of political blogs which chart attitudes and opinions on campaigns, issues and candidates relevant to that political leaning. One always hears about a blog breaking news before the "mainstream media" actually covers it. But are people really reading these blogs? The answer is no, as over half of Americans (56%) say they never read blogs that discuss politics. Just under one-quarter (23%) say that they read them several times a year and just 22 percent of Americans read blogs regularly (several times a month or more).
These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,302 U.S. adults surveyed online between January 15 and 22, 2008 by Harris Interactive®.
While it could be said that blogs are just a younger person’s folly, in our study this is not the case. Just one in ten (19%) Echo Boomers (those aged 18-31) regularly read a political blog and only 17 percent of Gen Xers (those aged 32-43) say the same. Matures (those aged 63 and older) are actually the generation most likely to be political blog readers as just over one-quarter (26%) say they regularly do so followed by 23 percent of Baby Boomers (those aged 44-62). Also, one hears of the rabid blogs on both sides of the political aisle, but just 22 percent of Republicans and 20 percent of Democrats regularly read blogs. Independents are the ones slightly more likely to read these, as just over one-quarter (26%) say they regularly read political blogs.