The mobile media market is on the brink of a boom, said executives at the Reuters Advertising and Media Summit yesterday, according to Reuters. As people spend more time with their mobile devices, and depend on them for more, mobile video, in particular, could prove to be the next big thing.
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Conde Nast Publications is planning to launch, by mid-2006, three new broadband sites that have a focus on video, writes MediaPost (via MarketingVox), quoting CondeNet editorial director Jamie Pallot, who apparently wouldn’t say what the subject areas or targeted audiences are. He did say Conde Nast would devote resources to the production and distribution of online video to meet marketers’ demand.
aQuantive’s Avenue A/Razorfish will help with the design and execution of the new sites, as it helps to revamp CondeNet’s Style.com, Men.Style.com and Concierge.com sites.
Hispanics are more likely to be influenced by outdoor advertising than non-Hispanics, according to a new report released by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. The study, conducted by Perception Research Services, was conducted on 100 car passengers in Los Angeles using eye-tracking technology during a 30-minute drive.
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In a study of women who took a vacation - defined as more than 50 miles from home and staying for at least one night - in the past three years, 95 percent are active decision makers, and one-third are the primary decision maker, writes DM News. The study, conducted by Roper Public Affairs & Media for Meredith Publishing, also showed that, of the women who take the lead in the vacation decision process, 45 percent suggest ideas, 54 percent conducted research, 38 percent made the final decision, and 49 percent booked the trip.
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After a 15-year run, Cristina La Revista, the Spanish-language magazine named for talk show diva Cristina Saralegui and published by Spanish media giant Televisa, has published its last issue, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Facing increased competition from from new magazines targeting Hispanics, the magazine’s paid circulation dropped from 125,000 in 2000 to about 90,000 in 2004.
Part of the problem faced by U.S. Hispanic magazines in general is that they receive only 2.9 percent of total Hispanic media spend - compared to 17 percent for magazines in the general market - and some Hispanic titles discount as much as 30 to 40 percent off rate card prices.
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NBC’s “Today” show co-anchor Katie Couric is seriously considering becoming the next evening news anchor at CBS, the LA Times reports. If CBS signs Couric, the move would pit her against her current NBC colleague Brian Williams - and shake up the race between the highly profitable morning shows.
AT&T has backed the FCC’s recommendation to give consumers a choice of cable channels, telling the FCC that it wants to offer a la carte programming, USA Today reports.
AT&T plans to start selling video services later this month. But to sell its TV services a la carte, AT&T would need the cooperation of programmers - who have so far refused.
Verizon says it is also considering a la carte.
In what likely comes as no surprise to Aegis, French billionaire Vincent Bollore has said that he wants to claim seats on the Aegis board, writes The Guardian. According to a source familiar with Bollore, he will raise his shareholding to 29.9 percent and then “he’s going to make their life a misery, he’s going to be a thorn in their side until he gets what he wants which is full control.”
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Clear Channel Communications is in talks with Yahoo, Microsoft, and Apple in the hopes of expanding reach to online listeners, according to Reuters. Distribution deals with iTunes and/or Yahoo could happen as early as 2006, said Clear Channel Radio’s chief executive John Hogan, at the Reuter’s Media and Advertising Summit earlier this week. The move is part of Clear Channel’s initiative to remake itself as a digital radio company.
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Tivo has announced new online services that expand its TV/online convergence - t-commerce, MediaPost reports. Subscribers using TiVo’s Series2 digital video recorder now offers subscribers the ability to search local movie listings, purchase tickets (through a new deal with Fandango), download music, podcasts, and exchange Yahoo Photos. Earlier this week Tivo announced that it is about to cut a deal with ad agencies (Interpublic, Omnicom, Publicis) and others (Comcast ad sales) to allow users to search for ads - via keywords (categories or brands) - for products they’re interested in.
Poor targeting keeps direct mail campaigns from making a splash, with around 45 percent of mail not being addressed to a specific person, according to a study from U.K. data firm GB Group, Brand Republic reports. The study, focused on the direct mail received from a single family, found that even when the mail was addressed to a specific member of the family, it was virtually never opened unless it directly appealed to them as a consumer.
Overall, one of the best sectors - at least in this single family - was financial services.
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While CBS claimed not to be worried about the possibility of Fox moving American Idol from Tuesdays and Wednesdays to Wednesdays and Thursdays, executives must have breathed a sigh of relief when Fox decided to nix the change. In fact, Fox claims the switch was never a serious consideration, writes Mediapost, quoting Fox executive vp of strategic planning and research: “There were rumors out there - we don’t know why. We always play around with a lot of scenarios.” He added that Fox considers other nights for Idol every season, including Sundays and Mondays. But according to Media Life, Fox had been feeling out buyers for weeks about such a change.
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Panasonic has put agency Grey Worldwide on 90-day notice as part of an ongoing effort to redefine its North American operations, writes AdAge. The move comes despite the fact that the company has tripled its market share since a new campaign from Grey, Ideas for Life, began running in April.
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The domestic automotive industry continues to feel the aftereffects of the summer’s employee discounts with drops in sales in November, while Asian manufacturers have seen increases, writes AdAge. According to Merrill Lynch auto analyst John Casesa, General Motors and Ford may see November vehicle sales drop by as much as 15 percent compared to last November, while Toyota may see low-double-digit increases in the U.S.
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AOL has developed a new service that allows users to perform web searches on mobile phones then access any website as they would on a desktop computer, reports CNET (via MarketingVox). AOL’s Mobile Search Service automatically adapts search results and web pages to handheld devices using technology from InfoGin, the companies said. “AOL Mobile Search services give consumers the power to search or shop for anything they need via conventional cell phone, smart phone or PDA,” said Jim Riesenbach, senior VP of AOL Search.
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The newly revamped Nightline, sans Ted Koppel, has launched to less than stellar reviews. The show that premiered on ABC on Monday night just after Monday night football was, from all accounts, a solidly produced newscast. But its new format - three hosts presenting three stories rather than a single host on a single topic for a full half hour - left something to be desired, according to Robert Bianco of USA Today. He called it a competent newscast, but “one that has gone from a show you stay up to see to one you watch if you’re up.”
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