Wendy's News and Tidbits

As CEO and founder of EXL Media, people are constantly asking me if traditional media is necessary, or how to make traditional and online methods work better together. Fortunately for my clients, I live and breathe media. It's not only necessary to stay on top of the game in today's economy, it's my passion, too. Following are a few tidbits every marketer needs to know.

March, 2011

People are always asking me to provide research on which mediums drive consumer buying decisions.
Below is a study I received from Mediapost.com

My favorite takeaways are that
1) people still love their magazines (Did you know Skiing Magazine is coming back in print form because Men missed reading it in the restroom?)
2) This research supports that a well rounded media mix is important but TV dominates.
3) Mobile Marketing is imperative.
4) Magazines are equal to online for 27-43 year olds
5) movie Theaters are surprisingly high at 27% for 14-20 year olds. As well as radio and magazines.
see the first table.

TV Advertising Most Influential

According to Deloitte's fifth edition "State of the Media Democracy" survey, 71% of Americans still rate watching TV on any device among their favorite media activities. In addition, 86% of Americans stated that TV advertising still has the most impact on their buying decisions.
The survey indicates that the Internet, mobile and social media channels are enhancing the overall television viewer experience, driving people to watch first-run programs and live events during their initial broadcast. And, nearly three-quarters of American consumers are multitasking while watching TV. 42% are online, 29% are talking on cell phones or mobile devices, and 26% are sending instant messages or text messages. 61% of U.S. consumers now maintain a social networking site, where constant streams of updates and discussion forums have made delaying awareness of live TV outcomes a near impossibility.

According to this year's survey, 33% of American households now own a smartphone, up from 11% only three years ago, and 40% of U.S. consumers that do not own a smartphone are likely to purchase one in the near future. This marked rise in smartphone penetration in the U.S. market is rapidly changing consumer behavior with 56% of smartphone and laptop owners stating that they used their smartphones as a replacement for their laptop while away from home, jumping significantly from 41% in only three months.

Mobile Internet use is quickly decoupling the Internet experience from the desktop for almost half of the population. This will facilitate new consumer behaviors, likely including increased mobile search, purchasing and social networking:

48% of U.S. Consumers have a voice and data plan for their mobile/smartphones; 26% state this plan is their most valued media & entertainment service 47% of U.S. consumers state their "smartphone" is one of their three most valuable media & entertainment products; ranking it as #4 among owners. Consistently over the last three years, roughly a third of U.S. consumers use their mobile phone as an entertainment device.

According to the survey, since 2007 a consistent 70% of Americans state that they enjoy reading printed magazines even though they know that they could find most of the same information online, and 55% have continued to subscribe to printed magazines. Since 2007, a consistent 80% of Americans who have read their favorite magazine state that reading the printed copy is their favorite method.

James McDonnell, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, says "... enthusiasm for printed magazines is consistent across all age groups, a unique result in consumer attitudes across all the media categories, we surveyed...

Access to mobile devices and broadband have made the average consumer more connected to the Internet than ever and new online storage models have become real options for the mass market. According to the survey, most Americans own a device that allows them to easily connect to the Web - 85% of consumers own a desktop computer, 68% own a laptop/netbook computer and 41% access the Internet on their mobile phone.

Additional Key Findings:

TV continues to reign as the most influential advertising platform, and online ads are considered influential by less than half of Americans. Yet, with the rise of social media, says the report, we are beginning to see online engagement with consumers happening in a much different, more social way:

The ability of ads on web sites to move traffic to other sites has dropped from 72% to 59% over the past three surveys

• 57% of U.S. consumers currently maintain a social networking site
• 26% of U.S. consumers are socializing online everyday/almost everyday (via social networking sites, chat rooms or message boards)
• 55% of U.S. consumers believe strongly/somewhat that online consumer reviews and ratings influence their buying decisions more than any type of online advertising
• 51% of U.S. consumers have purchased a product based on an online recommendation
• 65% of U.S. consumers frequently/occasionally visit web sites as a result of someone's online recommendation
• 24% of U.S. consumers would find it extremely/very desirable to have an online service that recommends a product based on other consumers' preferences
• 65% of U.S. consumers frequently/occasionally visit web sites as a result of someone's online recommendation
• 55% of Americans believe strongly/somewhat that online consumer reviews and ratings influence their buying decisions more than any type of online advertising

October, 2010

The study below provides some great information on search habits. This study supports several EXL Media strategies when it comes to paid search:

1. You should never just use Google in your search engine campaigns. Yahoo and MSN are import players (Table 3)
2. People do click on paid search results more than you think. Only 8% of respondents said they "NEVER" click on paid search results. (Table 1)
3. Traditional Media drives paid search and search cannot stand alone. 78% of respondents searched after seeing an ad elsewhere. This study does not specifically define whether the "ad elsewhere" is traditional or online ads. (see bold bullet below)

Performics 2010 Search Engine Results Page (SERP) Insights Study, conducted by ROI Research (found in the Mediapost Research Brief Newsletter Study)

• Those who are new to using search, or relative beginners, are more likely than more advanced searchers to use Yahoo! as their primary search engine
• Google users are less likely to stray from their primary search engine than Yahoo! or Bing users, but in general, the majority of respondents use an alternate search engine at least occasionally
• Over three-quarters of respondents say they use search to learn more about a product or service after seeing an ad elsewhere
• Nearly two-thirds of respondents are aware of the difference between natural and sponsored search results, with men and those age 18-29 more likely to be aware of the difference
• One in five respondents say they click sponsored results frequently or always
• Yahoo! users are more likely to look at natural and sponsored results first, before other parts/features of the SERP

Respondents rely heavily on search when researching or making purchases, finds the study.

While the primary search engine is Google for 75% of users, that percentage varies by the user's experience. "Novices" and "Advanced Beginners" have a tendency to start out on Yahoo!

February 10, 2010

Over the past few months I have been informing my clients that Facebook is a great way to reach moms as they spend a great deal of time there. I call it the "doctors office waiting room" in that I feel mom's somewhat hang out there waiting for responses to what they post or looking for new messages from friends and families. For this reason they may browse advertisements or company messages on the side of their facebook page as they would browse a stack of magazines in the doctors office. Several clients have asked me if I have any stats supporting this. So here is a recent study. We have been running Facebook cpc ads for several clients. Although we see great click volume we have see very little conversion.

Mom Marketing

According to a Retail Advertising and Marketing Association survey conducted by BIGresearch, women with children at home are more likely to use Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter than average adults. Additionally, 15.3% maintain their own blog.

Mike Gatti, Executive Director for RAMA, suggests
More than eight in 10 moms who use Facebook log on daily, and three in 10 log on five or more times a day. More than four in 10 log on from their cell phone/iPhone/Blackberry device at least some of the time.

Moms' top reason for using Facebook is keeping in touch with friends and family (96%). About a quarter use the site to keep in touch with professional contacts (23%) or play games/participate in quizzes (26%). 59.9% feel neutral about the ads they see onFacebook, and only 5% strongly dislike or are offended by them. While they don't mind ads, many feel there are better ways for marketers to capture their attention while they're on Facebook.

Moms are surprisingly willing to interact with marketers on Facebook, and their open-ended feedback reveals a high level of sophistication and marketing savvy.

Though individual comments don't constitute a comprehensive study, they are valuable in considering the marketing message. When asked what advertisers on Facebook should do that they aren't currently doing, moms say:

• "Provide exclusive offers (i.e., printable coupons, etc.). Exclusive offers would entice me to respond to the message (not just read/glance at [it]), and I might look them up on Facebook and become a fan."
• "[Be] more interactive. Starbucks is a good example - they just had a Facebook campaign where you could send a coupon for a free Starbucks ice cream to a friend on Facebook."
• "Offer samples."
• "Certificates or coupons for freebies or special discount offers. I always print those and use them."
• "Coupons/discounts for family places [such as] restaurants or coupons for grocery stores."
• "[Be] a little more targeted with online store specials."
• "Just talk to us. Direct us to Twitter or a blog where we can talk back. It's too complicated to carry on a conversation on Facebook. Make it easy for us."
• "I'd like to be able to comment on something they post without being alerted every time someone else makes a post. Sometimes that becomes distracting."

BIGresearch's Simultaneous Media Usage Survey was compiled for the Retail Advertising & Marketing Association, a division of the National Retail Federation. The survey polled 4,206 moms and 22,624 adults 18+. "Moms" are defined as women with children at home who are younger than age 18.

November 5, 2009

I am often asked if people still listen to the radio with the proliferation of Ipods, satellite radio and other forms of digital audio. Nielsen has provided a study and claims they do actually listen to broadcast media more than these other forms. They actually followed the audio listening habits of people in five cities: Seattle, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas. They also found that it has higher daily usage (minutes per day) than web (excluding email), newspaper and magazines. TV is the only medium that surpasses usage per day.

I read the details and found some interesting stats.
- Radio and web usage increases with those people who have HHI$100k+
- TV usage increases with people 55+ and lower income.
- 1/3 of web usage happens at work.
- 44% of radio usage is during commute time
- 8.5% of newspaper usage is spent while eating

The Study: A Nielsen analysis of a media use study conducted by the Council for Research Excellence (CRE) found that 77% of adults are reached by broadcast radio on a daily basis, second only to television at 95%. This study, in which consumers were physically observed consuming media throughout the day, found that Web/Internet (excluding email) reached 64%, newspaper 35%, and magazines 27%.

In a deeper analysis of audio media titled “How U.S. Adults Use Radio and Other Forms of Audio,” Nielsen found that that 90% of consumers listen to some form of audio media per day. The 77% who listen to broadcast radio surpass the 37% who listen to CDs and tapes and the 12% who listen to portable audio devices. Broadcast radio also continues to play a major role to all ages, with almost 80 percent of those aged 18 to 34 listening to broadcast radio in an average day.
“There are a lot of critics out there who want to write off broadcast radio, but this analysis of real-time media consumption shows that it continues to play a very strong role,” said Dr. Michael Link, VP of Methodological Research at The Nielsen Company.

While the recent emergence of portable audio devices like the iPod and other MP3 players was considered a threat to traditional forms of audio, this study’s evidence suggests that the new technology has had a positive effect on radio consumption. In fact, radio was found to have a higher reach (82%) among those who listen to portable audio devices, compared to the average reach for all audio consumers.

“This study proves that radio is still a popular medium for the tech-savvy, MP3-playing 18-34 year old consumer,” said Jeff Haley, President and CEO of the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB). “This groundbreaking observational study of today’s consumer proves that the primary source of new music is the radio.”

The study was conducted by observing the media usage among participants in five DMAs (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Seattle) in the spring and fall of 2008. Many of the broadcast listening trends were consistent with the findings from Nielsen’s 51-market radio ratings released in September.

“The results of this study confirm radio’s importance with all socio-economic groups within the United States, as well as with those that consume other audio platforms that had been perceived to be usurping radio’s audio dominance,” said Bob McCurdy, President of Katz Marketing Solutions.

Another key takeaway from the reports is that broadcast radio is the dominant form of audio media at home, work, and in the car.

Other findings highlighted in the report include:
· Audio media exposure has the highest reach among those with higher levels of education and income.
· Approximately 12% of study participants listened to MP3s and iPods for an average of 69 minutes per day, yet eight-in-ten of these individuals also listened to broadcast radio for an average of 97 minutes per day.

October 21, 2009

Center For Media Research
Gender and Age Consumption Differs in Evolving Media Usage Patterns

According to a new consumer trend report from TargetCast tcm, among American adults between the ages of 18-64, the future of traditional media, particularly newspapers, magazines and radio, is challenged by the rapid migration of hard-to-reach consumer groups to digital alternatives. However, when it comes to purchase influence on consumers, traditional media remains more influential when compared to digital advertising.

The study reveals a divide between men and women in how each gender engages with traditional media, and illustrates how a generational divide is affecting purchase influence among adults.

Peter Sedlarcik, SVP, Director of Insights and Analytics at TargetCast tcm, says "... marketers must take into account the evolving media preferences of specific target audiences... yet, while many may declare print media is dead... findings show that marketing messages in newspapers and magazines still score well in terms of consumer attentiveness and purchase influence."

Key findings:

• Men and women are consuming media differently. Men are more likely than women to indicate that printed news is a less relevant source of news and information
• Newspapers and magazines are not considered as relevant today and are easiest to eliminate from usage, yet score well in terms of attentiveness and purchase influence
• The biggest usage declines were found among men and young adults 18-34 in newspapers, magazines and radio
• TV and Internet, respectively, identified as most important media, though young adults 18-34 rank the internet as more important than TV
• 60% of consumers say newspapers need to change the most to stay relevant, compared to 30% for magazines and nearly 20% for radio. Fewer than 10% feel that TV or the Internet needs to change to stay relevant. Nevertheless, those ages 35+ still consider newspaper ads to be more influential in determining their purchase decisions.

The majority of adults 18-64 report that they are still using the same amount of each medium today as they were a year ago, however nearly a third say they are using less printed media (newspapers and magazines). Conversely, a third or more also report that they are using the Internet more as both a source of information and entertainment.

The data reveals a split between men and women in terms of the way each gender engages with traditional media and embraces newer media. In general, men are more willing to adapt their usage habits to incorporate more digital and online platforms as replacements for traditional media. On the other hand, women are more likely to hold strong with the traditional media and are more hesitant to embrace newer media.

The study also indicated that there is a marked generational difference in attention to digital media between adults ages 18-34 and adults and those older than age 35:

• Adults ages 18-34 are more likely to have replaced newspapers and magazines with internet content, while adults older than 25 are more likely to consider magazines and newspapers as valuable sources of information
• Adults ages 18-24 are more likely to say radio is not as relevant and that they prefer reading magazines online. This age group also indicates they don't mind watching ads when watching TV programs online
• Adults aged 18-34 are more likely than other consumer groups to consider advertising on the internet influential in their purchase decision
• 40% of Adults 18-64 say that they prefer the experience of reading printed newspapers over online news sources. Additionally, newspapers score well both in terms of ad attentiveness and purchase influence. However, when asked if they'd rather get news from online sources than from printed newspapers, the percentage of those who agreed vs. disagreed was about the same. And, people do not feel that newspapers are more trustworthy than online sources.

72% of consumers expect that sourcing the newspaper online should be free, and not willing to pay for an online newspaper subscription to replace their printed newspapers subscription.

A solid 57% say they prefer the experience of reading a printed magazine over reading a magazine on the Internet. An even stronger 71% would not be willing to pay for an online magazine subscription to replace their printed magazine subscription. Also, only 15% of respondents overall agree that they'd rather read magazines online. Additionally, printed magazines score well in terms of ad attentiveness and purchase influence.

41% of those surveyed indicate that radio is still relevant in today's media environment. According to respondents, radio provides a great venue to discover new music that cannot be experienced elsewhere. And, respondents overall prefer to listen to music through the radio station vs. Internet stations or on their mp3 player.

In summary, the report concludes that monitoring the pulse of consumer sentiment is a critical component of working toward a better understanding of the future of all media. Understanding the changing nature of how people now consume media may allow the media industry to reclaim the intimate relationship between the reader and their brands. The report notes that:

• Newspapers have a legacy of breaking news and uncovering stories of historic proportion, yet they are losing ground to a generation of consumers embracing digital and mobile alternatives
• Established magazines, often iconic brands, have begun to lose advertiser support after years of consistent readership and inspiring content
• Over the past 100 years radio has been a ubiquitous part of our daily lives. However, after surviving the challenges of broadcast TV, the emergence of cable and the launch of the Internet, radio is slowly being tuned out by a generation addicted to personal, programmable MP3 players, iPods, iPhones and other multi-media devices
• While many will continue to use traditional and new media as much as they have in the past, it is important to understand the shifting relationship between how men and women and different generations will consume media in the future so the industry can evolve these media in a way that is relevant and impactful to consumers

October 1 , 2009

Traditional Media Still Influential in Travel Decisions

About 117 million Americans -- or about 52% of U.S. adults -- have taken at least a two-day trip in the last two years. But only 47% of them used the Internet to research and make travel arrangements, per a new study.

C. Lee Smith, president and CEO of Ad-ology Research, tells MediaDailyNews that Web sites for specific hotels, attractions and locations ranked high in the survey, but conceded he was a little
surprised that just half of those surveyed relied on the Web to arrange travel. "Another surprise is that travel magazines did as well as they did, as did newspapers' entertainment sections. Traditional media is still holding its own."

Magazines were the most influential for travel services; newspapers were the most influential for local attractions.

Some 39% of recent travelers say online media actually influenced their choice of travel services, with hotel/bed and breakfast Web sites having the most influence. Thirty four percent used the Internet to search for flights, and 31% to search for hotels.

The data is per Westerville, Ohio-based Ad-ology Research's study on media influence on consumer choice in travel services. The firm says online content also influenced 34% to visit local attractions and events, like amusement parks, zoos and concerts. Traditional media influenced 27% of travelers and 32.7% of those visiting local attractions.

The firm found that word of mouth and digital also had a major influence, especially on younger consumers. Social media influenced the travel choices of 35.9% of 18-24s, versus 23% of all U.S. adults.

Markets where spending on airfare is highest are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Boston, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta, in descending order. For the study, Ad-ology surveyed an online consumer panel of 1,154 adults in January.

Click to read this article on the MediaPostPublications.com website

September 30 , 2009

Wendy Attended a Mobile Webinar presented by Nielsen on 9/15.

47% of Mobile of people who were exposed to an ad on a mobile phone responded to the ad

Demographics
Smart Phone users
Skew male
Skew 25-35
Us mostly for business

Ownership
As of July 2009
In the US there are 7.5 million IPhones owners and 12-15 million blackberry owners
22.5% of all phones purchased in the last 6 months were smart phones.
8.8% own Blackberrys
4.5% own Iphones
9.2% other Smartphones.

17% of the US owns Smartphones

19% of mobile users use the prepay service.
This type of user indexes high for Hispanics and African Americans

Usage (Q2 2009)
Twitter
3.676 million Unique users
85 transactions per user

Weather channel
1,096 million unique users
99 transactions per user

In the past 30 days, mobile owners
60% text
25% use the internet
7% video

Moms 25-44
Index high for sending pictures via text messaging
and text messaging.

July 2, 2009
On June 23rd I had the honor of joining some great guys on a panel at the 2009 California Conference on Tourism.The session topic was “ROI Measuring the Immeasureable”. Many people requested I send them my portion of the session. So here is a link. I would like to also say “thanks” to my fellow panel guests, David Bratton, David Kendrick, John Poimiroo, Tim Zahner."

TV and Magazine Ads More Effective Than Ads on Internet

April 1, 2009. New York, NY. McPheters & Company has released results of a study conducted in co-operation with Condé Nast and CBS Vision which explored the relative effectiveness of ads on television, in magazines, and on the Internet. The study represents an unusual example of collaboration on the part of companies with competing media interests.
The study used McPheters & Company's AdWorksTM methodology to provide comparable measures of ad effectiveness across multiple media, using 30-second TV ads, full-page 4-color magazine ads, and Internet banner ads in standard sizes. Additionally, eye-tracking software was used to determine whether – and under what circumstances – Internet ads were actually seen by respondents. The work was conducted in CBS Vision's state-of-the-art Television City facilities at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Matched groups of respondents were recruited to spend 30 minutes with a single medium in a laboratory setting. They either watched a choice of sit-coms, read a magazine they selected, or surfed the Internet at will. At the end of the period, they filled out similar online surveys that asked whether they recalled seeing 4 ads which appeared in the medium they consumed; in order to establish the level of over-claiming, which is known to vary by medium, they were also asked whether they recalled seeing 4 ads that had not appeared. These results were then used to calculate net recall or ad absorption for each medium.
Among the major findings were:

• Within a half hour, magazines effectively delivered more than twice the number of ad impressions as TV and more than 6 times those delivered online
• Though TV doesn't deliver as many ads per half hour as do magazines, net recall of TV ads was almost twice that of magazine ads; magazines in turn had ad recall almost three times that of Internet banner ads
• 85% of Internet ads served appeared on-screen and could be identified by brand
• Among web users, 63% of banner ads were not seen. Respondents' eyes passed over 37% of the Internet ads and stopped on slightly less than a third
• For Internet ads, almost all net recall could be attributed to ads that were seen
• Internet video ads appeared much less frequently than banner ads, and their exposure skewed heavily towards young men. When they did appear they were twice as likely to be seen as banner ads.

When study results were used in combination with other information on probability of exposure, a full-page 4-color magazine ad was determined to have 83% of the value of a 30-second television commercial, while a typical Internet banner ad has 16% of the value.

According to Scott McDonald, Senior Vice-President of Research for Condé Nast, “Because different media deliver ad impressions at vastly different rates, this study provides clear evidence that time spent with a medium does not translate into value for advertisers. It also indicates that magazine advertising is undervalued relative to its effectiveness.” Dave Poltrack, Chief Research Officer for CBS and President of CBS Vision, said “As more and more advertisers try to figure out how to communicate their story across media platforms, this form of experimental research will become an increasingly critical element in pre-campaign planning.”

“Our findings indicate that we need to learn more about how to engage Internet users with advertising content,” said Rebecca McPheters, CEO of McPheters & Company. “We look forward to expanding this work to look more closely at other forms of Internet advertising, as well as other media – such as cable, newspapers and radio, and specific types of programming or content. While the sample sizes were not significantly robust to release results for individual ad categories, the study suggests that there are real differences in performance that are worthy of further exploration,” she added.

About McPheters & Company
McPheters & Company specializes in strategic planning and research for brands and for companies in media-related fields, including media owners, advertisers, and ad agencies. The company develops business strategies to enhance both long- and short-term profitability. Much of its work is focused on enhancing and documenting the advertising value produced by media brands.

With a new experiment from Harris Interactive, there is some strong evidence that people exposed to both Radio and website ads are impacted more strongly than those exposed to website ads alone: Unaided recall for the mix of one Internet and one Radio exposure for these advertisers was four-and-a-half times as high as the unaided recall for two Internet ads alone. And the mix of one Radio and one Internet exposure had more than twice the aided recall of two Internet ads. Furthermore, a mix of Radio and Internet exposures also demonstrated clear potential to elevate other kinds of consumer impact, ranging from website visitation to emotional bonds, when the Radio ads them selves are impactful. Five of the Radio campaigns tested were especially effective.

Overall, the picture seems clear: Radio and the Internet can be powerful advertising complements. Whether the goal is to reach more people, or to reach them with greater impact, this particular combination of media seems to be a recipe that’s worthy of more consideration. (source, Arbitron)

BIG research analysed its Simultaneous Media Usage Survey for RAMA, the Retail Advertising & Marketing Association. When asked which media prompt an online search during the buying decision-making process, 47.2% said magazine advertising – the highest score for any medium. Magazine advertising’s high score was consistent across sex, income, age and region.

43.7% of consumers were prompted to go online by an article, 42.8% by TV advertising and 42.3% by newspaper advertising.