Old ads may find new life on tablets, suggests new research from GfK MRI. The market research firm surveyed its iPanel, composed exclusively of Tablet and eReader owners. Among other findings: male tablet computer owners are particularly interested in reading digital magazines, and that tablets generate readership of back issues of publications (meaning more exposures for long-ago ad purchases).
According to the GfK MRI iPanel, almost three-quarters (71%) of Tablet owners say they are interested in reading magazines on their devices. Men, in particular, are open to digital magazine reading: 77% of male tablet owners expressed interest in reading magazines on their device versus 68% of female owners. Among younger male Tablet owners, ages 18 to 34, 85% expressed interest in reading magazines on their device.
Moreover, digital magazines seem to be sparking new reading behavior among consumers. For instance, almost one-fifth (19%) of tablet owners who read a magazine on their device in the last 30 days also took the opportunity to read back issues of a title during their reading session. In this instance, there was little difference between genders, with 20% of males having read back issues compared to 19% of females.
"The fact that younger men who own tablets are interested in reading digital magazines bodes well for digital magazine advertisers, since this demographic has been historically hard to reach," said Risa Becker, SVP Research at GfK MRI.
The most popular way in which tablet owners read a magazine or magazine-related content is with an App. Almost two-thirds (65%) of tablet owners who read a magazine on their device in the last 30 days did so via an App; 47% of tablet owners accessed magazine content on their devices by visiting a magazine's website; and 37% read a digital reproduction of a magazine, which includes both print content and advertisements.
Bleacher Report Listens to Advertisers, Detractors, Hires Professional Writers
Online sports media giant Bleacher Report has since 2008 relied upon citizen journalists. But it will hire twenty professional sports writers, reports paidContent, to complement the content by “rabid fans [who] churn out buckets of barstool-style sports chatter.”
A Bleacher Report spokesman described its typical writer as “a guy who works by day and is a 49ers fan by night.” That may have created a tailgate-party appeal to sports fans, but it alienated some top advertisers. CBS Interactive chose not to renew a year-long contract, reported AdAge, supposedly turned off by such content as photos of scantily-clad women, and “insensitive editorial pieces.” CEO Brian Grey at the time pledged to clean up Bleacher Report’s act, and these new hires are part of that effort. Bleacher Report contributors are unpaid, like CNN iReporters, which fosters a few bits of superior journalism among a lot of silliness.
These newly-hired writers will be dedicated to specific fields (e.g. hockey and basketball), and will be in charge of filtering content and guiding contributors toward better content.
Even with its rough reputation, Bleacher Report attracts brands like TiVo’s Premiere Elite DVR, And Starz “Spartacus Vengeance.” Bleacher Report lists its demographics as:
- 71% Male
- 69% 18-49, 40% 18-34, 83% 21+
- 45% household income of $75k+, and 26% at $100k+
- The 5th most-visited digital sports property, with 9.0 million monthly unique visitors per comScore stats
Advertise to Mobile Gamers With Rewards, Not Banners
Advertisers are finding that banner ads in mobile games are viewed as an annoyance, reports Digiday. Companies like Kiip and Appsavvy, and San Francisco-based Gimmie, have found an alternative: rewarding game players with coupons or points toward a purchase.
Advertisers using Kiip applications offer what Kiip calls “Real Rewards for Virtual Achievements.” A player who, for example, achieves a high score in “Slam Dunk Basketball” may receive congratulations and an offer from such consumer brands as Sephora, Carl’s Jr., Dr. Pepper and 1-800-Flowers.
Thusfar, no market research exists to quantify the benefits to those advertisers, or to the game developers who incorporate Kiip, AppSavvy or Gimmie (now in private beta testing). But Kiip CEO Brian Wong estimates the number of mobile game players in the U.S. is 15 million, and growing; and increasingly female. But in addition to those top brands, in-game reward developers are attracting heavy investment. Kiip was incorporated only in July 2010, and has since received $4.4 million in funding from True Ventures, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, and Crosslink Capital. Appsavvy has received $3.1 million in first round funding, also led by True Ventures, and a private investment by About.com Founder Scott Kurnit.
“Bloomberg Pursuits” Luxury Lifestyle Mag Readies for March Debut
When in October 2011 Bloomberg announced it would launch a luxury lifestyle magazine, a Poynter Institute editor described it as “What the 1% reads.” Bloomberg Pursuits is a spin-off of its investor-oriented title Bloomberg Markets, and will debut with a March 2012 issue.
Bloomberg describes its readership as the "Global Financial Elite." Pursuits is exclusive to the 310,000 subscribers to the Bloomberg Professional service, who also receive Markets. The company describes the readership as market-movers, young, business leaders, and influencers with discerning tastes.” (Hence Pursuit’s hiring one editor to report solely upon luxury watches.) The demographics are:
- Age 38
- Average household income $452,000
- Male (90%)
“Our readers don’t just own and appreciate luxury,” said editor Vince Bielski in an interview with WWD. “They have a command and mastery of their toys.” WWD got an advance look at the debut issue, which will contain 46 pages of editorial and 30 ad pages, with such brands as Hermès, Chanel and Rolls-Royce. Issue 2 is not due until December, then the book will go quarterly in 2012. Feature articles include such titles as "Collectors Revive Picasso" and "Fine Tuning Ferrari."
QR and “Action Codes” Doubled in 2011 Magazine Ads
A full 8% of magazine ads in December 2011 included action codes (including quick-response or QR codes), up from 3.6% in January. That according to mobile technology provider Nellymoser, and reported in Adweek.
The company surveyed the top 100 magazine titles throughout the year, and offers these findings:
- 4,468 codes appeared in the top 100 magazines during 2011
- Only 352 codes appeared in Q1, and grew to 1,899 in Q4, for 439% growth
- Advertisers drove the growth with 4,011 codes, while editorial (supporting the publisher or magazine) drove the remainder
Nearly 40% of the codes came under beauty, fashion and home. Top users were John Frieda with 82, L’Oreal with 79, Cuisinart with 74, Garnier with 72 and Revlon with 67. That is why most of the codes were in women’s magazine titles, and the top 10 included InStyle, Self, Allure, Glamour and Shape.
Male-oriented titles using QR codes included ESPN Magazine, Sports Illustrated and Wired. Advertisers in male-oriented magazines tended toward electronics (Bose, Samsung), credit cards (American Express) and retailers (American Eagle).
Finally, advertisers used QR codes for four types of campaigns:
- Video demonstrations and branding (e.g., a look behind the scenes)
- Data capture and list building (e.g., with sweepstakes)
- Links to e-commerce sites and store locators for brick-and-mortar locations.
- Social media sharing with links to Facebook and Twitter.
The significance of QR codes is that 18% of those who regularly scan the codes are moved to purchase. Magazines represent the highest use of QR codes (versus billboards and on-screen ads) at 35%.
Nielsen’s Top Online Video Destinations for December: Rich Ad Opportunities
Nielsen has released its tally of unique U.S. video viewers for December 2012. All told, 164.3 million viewers streamed more than 22 billion videos, and spend more than 5 hours each watching online video.
YouTube as ahead at more than 131 million unique viewers; but, Nielsen offered no insights as to how many viewers watched ad-sponsored content. Second-place VEVO, with 39.7 million unique viewers, is entirely ad supported.
A fairly untapped ad outlet is the CollegeHumor Network clocked 19,261 unique users. CollegeHumor is one of four CH Media properties, and touts itself as “The best way to reach the male 18-49 demographic.” Its strongest advertiser in January is Comedy Central, with tower ads for its Tosh 2.0 series.
February’s Magazine Ad Gainers Include Allure, Traditional Home and - Surprise! - Smithsonian
Beauty and lifestyle magazines continue to lead the pack among ad gainers. Condé Nast owns three of five magazines that gained in February issue ad pages, reports Access Intelligence. Its minOnline boxscore tracks ad page gains and losses across 150 titles.
Comparing February 2012 to February 2011, beauty-and-fashion title Allure jumped 32.21 pages, for a 56.67% gain. Teen Vogue was second, with 15.95 pages and a 34.78% gain, and Self rounded out the top five with 19.96% gain.
Traditional Home, a Meredith property, was third with a 34.87% gain, and 13.43 pages. Publisher Beth Brenner cited an “editorial refresh,” with more eye-friendly design and larger product shots.
The one lone cultural publication among those lifestyle magazines—also the only independent publication—was Smithsonian, published by The Smithsonian Institution, which gained 41.22%. New advertisers to the February Obsession-themed include Norway Tourism, Mexico Tourism and Advair, with advertisers like Toyota Prius, Celebrex and Prudential returning. Group publisher Jennifer Hicks believes new editor Michael Caruso, former Los Angeles magazine editor, has generated enthusiasm among advertisers. Smithsonian is also the only magazine with a strong male readership, at 48%.
These said Access Intelligence were exceptions to an “overall dismal February,” with only 53 of 150 titles registering gains, and a cumulative loss of -6.56% across all titles.
“Singletons” Ignored by Advertisers, But Spend $1.9 Trillion a Year
Advertisers are just waking up to unmarried adult “singletons,” according to a Fortune story. Despite the perception of miserable loners sitting at home, they socialize up to five nights a week, and spend more than $10,000 per person per year more than married counterparts with children.
The Fortune story was adapted from the book Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone, by New York University sociology professor Eric Klinenberg. Among Klinenberg’s findings:
- 28% of U.S. households now consist of one person, 40% of city households
- Average per capita annual expenditure was $34,471 in 2010, versus $23,179 per person in high-income households with children
- The majority of singletons is female, at 18 million versus 14 million men
- 18-34 year olds are the smallest but fastest growing demographic
Singletons spend their discretionary income largely on socializing several nights a week at bars and restaurants, in special-interest clubs and joining gyms. This, speculated CEO David Eastman of advertising giant JWT, is why alcohol advertisers like Smirnoff now favor images of friends at communal tables, versus couples. Elsewhere, Nestlé reported that 90% of its Lean Cuisine meals are eaten alone, and failed when it attempted to market double-serving meals.
Still, the singleton demographic is largely untapped. Only a handful of big-ticket advertisers, including Norwegian Cruise Lines, Coldwell Banker, Lowe’s, Chevrolet and DeBeers have targeted singles. DeBeers now offers a “right-hand ring,” a diamond designed for single women, and Norwegian Cruise Lines offers “studio staterooms” for single travelers.
Nielsen Case Study: Local TV, Advertisers Gain Unduplicated Reach with Online Audience
Nielsen has released a case study revealing that in local markets, station websites contribute added reach to early and late news broadcasts—particularly among the 18-34 demographic.
Nielsen conducted the study along with TV operator Fisher Communications, focusing upon two Washington-based Fisher properties, being KOMO in Seattle and KATU in Oregon. Fisher reportedly wanted to better leverage its content and advertising inventory. Nielsen used its Single Home Among Nielsen’s findings:
- KOMO station earned an unduplicated audience of 2.9% from its website for persons 18 and older, comprising 10% of the combined reach of its 11pm news broadcast, Monday through Friday. The number is even higher for persons 18-34, with a 3.9% incremental reach and nearly 23% of the total combined reach.
- KATU added 2.8% incremental reach from online viewership, with the 25-54 demographic creating the highest boost. Katu.com contributed 14% of combined viewership.
The significance to advertisers is that, with precise measurements such as these and integrated TV and Internet, marketers are “gaining the ability to better package local ad inventory” and to amplify local TV audience value. Precision attracts advertisers to spend more locally.
However, those advertisers must pay attention to the demographics cross-media, which differ. KOMO news broadcast viewers are predominantly female, while online viewers are predominantly male. And, online viewers included a higher percentage of mid-range income ($50,000 - $99,000) than any of its three daily news broadcasts.
Nielsen expects that with findings like these, TV outlets will use on-air broadcasts to more heavily promote their websites; and to promote cross-media advertising.
Mobile Ad Space: Ownership Doubles of Tablets, E-Readers Since December
U.S. marketers raised their mobile ad budgets by 7-8% in Q4 2011, but may wish to boost them further. Mobile ad outlets, e-readers and tablet computers specifically, nearly doubled in market reach, and in just six weeks.The percentage of U.S. adults who own tablet computers jumped from 10% to 19% between mid-December and early January. The percentage of those who own e-book readers jumped the same 10-19%, reports the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.
All told, 29% of Americans own at least one of the two devices; that percentage jumped from 18% in mid December.
Pew calls these findings “striking” after stagnant ownership figures between Summer and Autumn 2011. But as Christmas approached, “Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble’s Nook Tablet were introduced at considerably cheaper prices than other tablets.” Among e-readers, some models of the Kindle and Nook fell below $100.
Who are the owners?
After the holiday rush, a full 36% of tablet owners lived in households earning more than $75,000. Almost a third, 31%, is college educated. The highest percentage of ownerships is among adults 30-49, at 27%, but the 18-29 demographic is not far behind, at 24%.
The e-reader story is a bit different. Women outpaced men as new adopters, and now 21% of women own them, versus 19% of men. The average household income was more evenly spread, owing to the lower total cost of ownership.
