- Internet usage in the U.S. dipped about 20% during the Sunday night Super Bowl broadcast, reports Multichannel News. That compared with an average Sunday, and despite the "Social Super Bowl" hype. NBC’s online video feed of the game took 6.2% of all downstream broadband traffic at 9 p.m.
- Google Offers, the Internet giant’s answer to Groupon, has just launched in its 40th major city. With this week’s launch in Oklahoma City, Okla., and Omaha, Neb., plus ten cities in the two weeks prior (including Boston and Washington, DC), Google Offers has aggressively expanded in just six months. As WebProNews describes, Groupon turned down an acquisition offer from Google.
- Barclays Capital is guessing that an Apple HDTV, priced at $1,500, could quickly take 5% of the HDTV market—bringing with it the accompanying Apple ad platform. As MobileMarketingWatch describes, the Apple TV would be less of a television, than a delivery vehicle for gaming, video, content delivery and apps, all of which presumably will be funded in part by iAds.
- The Washington Post yesterday launched free iPhone and apps for its Facebook-powered Social Reader app, reports the Poynter Institute. With the apps, users have “mobile-optimized access” to articles that participating Facebook friends have read, not just from the Post but from more than 30 participating publications. The Post claims 11 million people are using the app on Facebook.com.
- Digital magazine publishers may see a plateau on eReaders, eMarketer forecasts, and based on stats from Verso Advertising and Burst Media. While almost 16% of U.S. Internet users surveyed in December, 2011, owned an eReader, those who plan to buy one is declining. The good news—for marketers anyway—is that eReaders are losing ground to tablet computers, with their larger screens and higher processing capacity. Tablets are expected to see double-digit growth, reaching 89.5 million users in 2014. However the eReader/tablet horserace ends, the mobile ad opportunity is still a powerful one.
Upfront Digital: NBC’s Straight-to-App Launch | Apple Targets App Bots | Subway Moves Digital Ad Buy
- NBC News launch its new documentary series “Hidden Planet” not on TV, but on the “Rock Center with Brian Williams” iPad app, reports Broadcasting & Cable in an exclusive. This will be the first time NBC has premiered a series that way. Episodes of the monthly series will be exclusive to the iPad app for one week, before it becomes available on RockCenterNBC.com. The series takes the veteran foreign correspondent to such exotic destinations as Timbuktu and the Sahara Desert—places generally off the news radar.
- Mobile app rankings (including those for digital magazines and newspapers) will not be manipulated, pledges Apple. As paidContent describes, the company has acknowledged that third parties are offering download-bot services to inflate app rankings; and to place favorable reviews on apps. Apple declined comment to paidContent, but quickly issued a statement on its developer site that “Even if you are not personally engaged in manipulating App Store chart rankings or user reviews, employing services that do so on your behalf may result in the loss of your Apple Developer Program membership.”
- Subway has moved its domestic digital ad business (including search, mobile and display ads) to MediaCom, and away from Publicis, reports ClickZ. The sandwich chain is reportedly consolidating its U.S. business, and MediaCom has managed Subway’s offline ad business since 2000. Kantar Media clocks Subway’s 2011 digital spend at about $12.7 million, excluding mobile, but the chain announced it will up that spending considerably in 2012.
- Elsewhere in digital/agency news, Ad Age discovered that AOL is searching for an agency to refresh its image and spread the word “why people should care about AOL again.” Supposedly, the company finds consumers vague on its value proposition. AOL struggles against competitors Google and Yahoo, has also struggled to support its Patch.com community news outlet, but has recently acquired online properties Techcrunch and the Huffington Post. AOL posted Q4 2011 display ad revenues at $363.8 million, up 10% year-over-year.
Research: Three Formats Dominate Online Ad Spend
While the U.S. online ad spend will approach $40 billion in 2012, just three formats will dominate that spend, forecasts eMarketer: search, banners, and video adverts. Those three formats will capture 80% of the online ad spending through 2016.
Search will dominate, hovering just below 50% for the next five years, though it will lose some ground to online video; that format will see the highest persistent growth in spending, and will nearly double in percent of total spend from 7.9% in 2012 to 15% in 2016. Banners will retain their #2 status, with 23.4% share of total spend in 2012, and 20.5% in 2016, also losing ground to video ads.
Video ads are expected to grow by 55% in spending this year, after a healthy growth of 42.1% in 2011. That growth (the highest in a single year through 2012) is fueled in part by the 2012 election and summer Olympic Games. (Consider the PAC and campaign ads you’ve seen already.)
Each of these three formats fits nicely into the mobile format, and mobile display ads (chiefly banner and video) are expected to grow by 93.5% to $861.7 in 2016.
eMarketer has projected that U.S. online ad spending will grow 23.3% in 2012 to nearly $40 billion, and nearly $53 billion in 2013. This will make 2012 the first year in which online ad spends will surpass the total spent on print ads, with $39.5 billion online versus $33.8 billion in magazines and newspapers.
Super Bowl Mobile Traffic: Mobile Gaining First-Screen Status in Sports
Super Bowl viewers Tweeted, checked in on mobile sports sites and furiously commiserated on Facebook; but they took a break to watch Madonna’s half-time show.
Jumptap monitored traffic on its mobile ad network between 4 p.m. and midnight. Traffic on its mobile sports channel spiked after kickoff. This is evidence of a “clear trend of multi-screen usage” among sports viewers, one reason why “ESPN is now calling mobile the ‘first screen.’”
Jumptap recorded a dip of 47% in traffic during Madonna’s half-time show, which puzzled Jumptap blogger mduffy: “For me, this was the time to catch up on email,” or perhaps to share outrage over singer M.I.A.’s middle digit offense. Jumptap saw mobile traffic dip across its entire network, by 20%, not just on sports sites. The dip was closer to 40% in Boston and New York.
But traffic spiked at 9:45 p.m. on Jumptap’s sports channel by 275%, when the Giants won.
Mobile devices, long thought the “third screen” after television and computers, are climbing to first-screen status. ESPN’s mobile audience passed 20 million in 2011, with viewing time on mobile devices up 45% over 2010. “[Mobile] is the primary way we reach an audience,” said ESPN Mobile’s VP and General Manager Michael Bayle at the January MediaPost conference.
Research: 70% Of Tablet Owners Want to Buy through Digital Magazine Ads
Fully 70% of tablet computer owners want to be able to buy items by clicking on digital magazine ads, reports GfK MRI. Another 70% say they like electronic ads that are personalized to their interests. GfK MRI is the consumer-centric market research firm, which regularly polls its iPanel, composed exclusively of tablet computer and eReader owners.
GfK MRI polled tablet owners who read a magazine on their devices in the last 30 days with several digital-magazine related topics. Additional findings include:
- Nearly three-quarters (72%) of tablet owners who would prefer all digital magazines to be formatted in the same way
- A majority of tablet magazine readers (67%) say that, if available, they would rather read an electronic version of a magazine than a paper version
- Still, 65% say it's more satisfying to read a magazine the traditional way
- Almost half (48%) of tablet magazine readers say electronic magazines take too long to download, 46% say that videos in digital versions of magazines are "just a gimmick" and 43% claim they find it hard to search for magazines they want to read on their tablets
So tablet makers have a few obstacles to overcome before digital magazines offer a fully-satisfying experience, and thus, an entirely effective ad platform. "Although magazine publishers are experimenting with different formats in order to differentiate their digital brands, this is not necessarily resonating with digital readers adopting the new tablet technology," said Risa Becker, SVP Research at GfK MRI.
Still—with a full 70% of digital magazine readers wanting to buy through the format, advertisers have an opportunity to reach some attractive demographics (see chart for tablet/eReader ownership by age).
Mobile Ads: Mobile Becoming the Norm, Apple/Android Wrestle on Click-Throughs and Quality
Research by mobile ad network solutions provider Jumptap suggests that mobile devices will become the norm for Internet access, and that advertisers must take a cross-market approach to the Apple and Android operating systems: they must cater to both.
Tablet network traffic jumped 229% over an average projected for the day after Christmas, based on historical network traffic, Jumptap reported in its just-released January MobileSTAT report.
January 2, 2012 also saw a bump, with a 263% traffic increase (most likely from recipients uploading holiday photos and getting familiar with their devices).
Jumptap found that the Kindle Fire experienced the greatest tablet growth throughout December. The new device held 10% of tablet market share on December 1 and finished the year with 30% market share. This year-end surge suggests a 2012 trend for lower-priced tablets.
Mobile to overtake desktops, laptops?
"Mobile is quickly becoming the primary access point of the internet. Advertisers have seen this movie before with PC based digital advertising and are allocating mobile budgets that are larger and larger," said Paran Johar, Chief Marketing Officer, Jumptap. "The surge in tablet adoption rates and rise in mobile subscribers support the expectations that mobile will eventually outpace online."
In 2011, the mobile ad industry broke the billion dollar barrier for the first time. This month analysts at eMarketer changed their predictions about mobile ad spending growth, estimating the market would be roughly $6.5B by 2014, much higher than their September 2010 estimate of $2.5B by 2014. Jumptap believes even that revised estimate is conservative.
Android versus iOS: Neither can be ignored
In 2011 Android and iOS continued to battle for mobile OS share. When the dust cleared, Android had beaten iOS. The January MobileSTAT found that Android's share grew 21% (38% in December 2010 to 59% in December 2011), while iOS dropped 7% points (29% in December 2010 to 22% in December 2011). Still, iOS tripled in overall traffic on the Jumptap network of more than 95 million unique visitors, while Android more than quadrupled. The lesson to marketers, says Jumptap, is that both operating systems are growing at break-neck speeds and a cross-platform approach is essential to reach their audiences.
But, Android mobile ads and apps can be improved, the research suggests. While Android’s share is increasing, its click-through rate is dropping, compared to iOS. The latest Android 3.x has a .59% CTR, while iOS 5 has about .9%.
Apple earns that higher rate, says Jumptap’s Johar. "With every new iPhone release, he says, Apple's designers "seem to be optimizing the user experience. It's no secret that they are obsessed with design and usability. Their obsession with functionality and the user interface is paying off."
The challenge to Android is that it retains little control over the use of its ecosystem. It licenses out its operating system and device manufacturers customize it. Its open technology enables developers to create both elegant and irritating, poorly-working apps.
Upfront Digital: Apple Shops for TV Parts | Too Much Ad Space | MS Anti-Google Ad
Upfront Digital:
• Apple has been “shopping around for TV parts,” reports AllThingsD, meaning an Apple-platform smart TV is inching toward reality. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote in a note to clients that Apple has been talking to TV component vendors. This following some January meetings in Asia, supposedly to scope out manufacturing facilities, which led Piper Jaffray to believe Apple is looking to manufacture large-scale LCD displays.
• Citing “inventory oversupply” in the mobile ad space, Digiday reports that during Q3 of 2011, only 18 percent of impressions were filled by the top 20 U.S. mobile ad networks, and 10 percent worldwide. This says Digiday makes it “increasingly difficult for publishers to generate revenues from their mobile audiences.”
• About.com (a New York Times company) with its evergreen content may not seem a serious ad outlet, but, it is serious enough for Charles Schwab and Procter & Gamble. Now the online outlet has launched Real Recipes, a free app for iPhone and iPod Touch, to deliver About.com’s “deep catalogue of culinary content” (more than 25,000 recipes and numerous menu-planning tools) to the digital space.
• Former “NBC Dateline” anchor will bypass television and anchor straight from the web, reports TV Newser. In a video message on the StonePhillipsReports.com website, Phillips declared that after 20 years in broadcast news, he will now report on stories important to himself. First out of the lineup—head injuries in youth football, in a story called “Hard Hits, Hard Numbers.” As yet, Phillips is not accepting advertising, just donations. Dateline NBC did not review Phillips’ contract in 2007, and he has not been on broadcast television since.
• In an attempt to promote its Bing search engine over Google, Microsoft has launched its “Putting People First” campaign in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today. As Social Times describes, Microsoft argues in the ad that Google sells out users to advertisers by using personal information to influence the type of advertising each customer sees. Microsoft products including Hotmail, Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer and Bing, are far safer and more private, the company claims.
WSJ Live Launches YouTube Channel
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) today launched its dedicated YouTube channel, reports Investors Business Daily. First among its advertisers visible to YouTube viewers: the Ron Paul campaign (with a banner ad and 13-minute streaming infomercial), the United Arab Emirates and Boeing.
Key among the on-demand content is its “Off Duty” lifestyle show, based on the section of the same name in WSJ’s Saturday editions. WSH reporter Wendy Bounds will host “Off Duty,” airing every business day at 6pm EST, then available on demand. WSJ is treating YouTube as another distribution channel for its WSJ Live, which offers four hours of live programming per day. WSJ Live is available already on the iPad and Smart TVs. The WSJ Live app is also broadly available, via Apple TV, Google TV and Roku. WSJ claims its Live app for iPad has been downloaded more than 160,000 times since launch in September 2011. A quick check of the Apple iTunes store reveals a five-star rating for the app.
While the “Off Duty” segment is new, it joins several existing segments including Digits, Mean Street, Markets Hub and Opinion.
Digital Ads: Affluent Buyers Highly Mobile, Digital, But Penny Wise
“Affluents” with a minimum $100,000 in yearly household income spend far more time online than the general population, reports eMarketer. They spend 26.2 hours online per week, versus 21.7 for the population overall. But they watch far less television, at 17.6 hours per week versus the 34 for the average American.
Affluents number 58.5 million, and 33% owns smartphones. Research suggests that the digital ads that reach affluents are—
- Opt-in email ads
- Sponsored websites from search results
- Targeted ads, relevant to what the affluent is doing or searching in the moment
- Ads tied to demographics (e.g., local restaurants, gyms, grocery stores).
On the downside, affluents have money because they don’t throw it away. “The vast majority…do not regard themselves as rich, however, and don’t spend as if they were,” said eMarketer Analyst Mark Dolliver. Of those 58.5 million, only 11% has a household income of more than $250,000. Affluents are in fact cutting back. So, ads for luxury goods and destinations are less likely to reach the affluent than ads for consumer goods and deals on dining and entertainment.
Research: Digital Magazines Attract Male Readers, Stretch Ad Exposures on Tablets
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.
