ABC, Nielsen Team To Measure iPad Video Consumption

More big media companies want to determine consumer usage and reach of new digital media platforms.

Now Disney/ABC Television Group has announced an effort with Nielsen to measure video consumption on iPads.

With 55 million different versions of iPads now sold -- and another 3 million new iPads sold in the last few weeks -- the companies say it's important to understand how consumers are using the iPad when watching video.

Nielsen will create a panel by asking 200 people to download a special "meter," which will measure reach, duration, frequency and page views of their iPad apps and Web usage. The opt-in Nielsen iPad panel will aggregate and measure video consumption, app usage and other activity over the course of a year.

The companies believe the study will offer the first view of actual iPad behavior -- as opposed to self-reported data -- along with demographics and other insights.

Disney has been studying consumer tablet behavior for some time, but now wants some deeper data. “Nielsen’s proprietary technology has the potential to deliver unprecedented additional details about consumer viewing patterns,” stated Peter Seymour, executive vice president of strategy and research for Disney Media Networks.

Cheryl Idell, executive vice president at Nielsen, added: “The insight gleaned from this study, using these metering capabilities, is an example of how we meet our commitment to deliver cross-platform understanding to the industry.”

Disney isn't the only media company looking to find deeper analysis. Recently, media agency Group M announced a deal with Nielsen to measure cross-platform -- traditional TV and other digital media -- reach and frequency of Group M clients media campaigns.

SMBs Up Ad Budgets for Digital Media

Showing power in numbers, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) continue to increase their share of digital advertising.

Over the next 12 months, SMBs plan to allocate 26% of their budgets to digital and online media, according to Local Commerce Monitor, BIA/Kelsey's 15-year tracking study of SMB advertising spending, media usage, web presence and sales channels.

As a whole, SMBs are particularly interested in self-serve advertising and promotional tools, including video, social media and search engine marketing.

"SMBs love the easy-to-use tools, like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and self-serve advertising," according to Matt Booth, SVP and program director of Interactive Local Media at BIA/Kelsey. "We are on the verge of a real revolution in marketing platforms that serve SMBs, in particular around digital presence."

According to LCM Wave 15, nearly half of respondents -- 49% -- reported that they purchase online advertising, including SEM products, directly from a Web site -- either with or without live operator assistance.

More than half -- 52% -- of LCM respondents reported that they use social media to promote their businesses, while 22% said they plan to have a video on YouTube in the next 12 months.

According to a new U.S. SMB Spending Forecast by BIA/Kelsey, small and medium-sized businesses will continue the recent trend of shifting their marketing budgets to digital advertising, performance-based platforms and customer-retention business solutions over the next five years.

Late last year, BIA/Kelsey predicted that SMBs would allocate 30% of their marketing budgets to traditional advertising by 2015 -- down from 52% in 2010.

That would leave 70% for digital and online media, including mobile, social, online directories, online display and digital outdoor; performance-based commerce, including pay-per-click, deals, and couponing; and customer retention business solutions, including email, reputation and presence management.

In sheer dollar terms, U.S. SMB spending on media, marketing and business solutions will grow to reach $40.2 billion by 2015 -– up from $22.4 billion in 2010 -– according to BIA/Kelsey. If accurate, that would represent a compound annual growth rate of 12%.

(Source: Online Media Daily, 02/28/12)

5 To-Do's When Activating Digital Shopper Marketing Programs

Digital shopper marketing tools are clearly enhancing the consumer shopper experience, both for the marketer as well as the shopper. However, the dizzying array of tools available can make it a bit challenging to discern which ones will provide the most bang for the buck for marketers.

A new survey on digital shopper marketing from Catapult helped provide the following five considerations when activating these programs:

1. Leverage the Proven Winners

To date, only three tools have captured shopper hearts and minds: Self checkout, printed coupons from the Internet, and online circulars, all of which are previously-existing tactics translated digitally. These tools are easy for shoppers to understand and easy to use and should be integrated where possible.

Brand Examples: Kellogg's, P&G and General Mills all have robust programs on Coupons.com and MyWebGrocer. Publix's circular integrates lifestyle images and recipes on the cover rather that just product shots with price.

2. Beware of the Bright and Shiny

Know the facts and understand where fatigue has set in. Tools such as Foursquare, QR codes, and social media are not shopper motivators, while other media darlings such as Shopkick and Checkpoints have very low shopper penetration. Evaluate the facts, and ensure you've selected tactics that deliver against your higher-level objectives.

Brand Examples: QR Codes on Heinz Ketchup bottles in restaurants and Walgreens Foursquare program.

3. Understand the Balance of PR Drivers vs. Those With Utility

The way many digital shopper-marketing tools have been leveraged to date -- such as augmented reality and location-based check-ins -- have provided good public relations opportunities for brands, but lack a real use for the shopper. Be sure you are clear with your objectives, and rethink how you leverage moving forward.

Good PR Drivers: Foursquare
Good Utility: Grocery IQ

4. Early-on vs. add-on

Deliver Integrated digital shopper solutions vs. tactical add-ons, and understand how to re-leverage national/brand assets and activity across the path-to-purchase at retail.

Brand Example: Pets Lovers Love Walmart -- a category program that extends Pedigree's National Pet Adoption program into a retail-specific environment.

5. Leverage the Full Spectrum of Shopper "Need States"

Digital shopper marketing tools do more than just "save me time" and "save me money." The tools "make me feel smarter," "make Shopping Fun," and "support my values," among other benefits. Determine where and how digital can best deliver against these need states, and leverage the tools whose need states align with brand, product and target needs as well as program objectives.

Brand Example: Kellogg's Share Your Breakfast Program -- "Supports My Values"

(Source: Promo Magazine, 01/10/12, by Brian Cohen, Director of Digital Shopper Marketing, Catapult)

Digital Divide: Print Media Declines As Tablets, E-Readers Rise

Demand for print media is rapidly declining, digital pundits assure us -- but don't take their word for it: paper manufacturers also see the handwriting on the wall.

In fact, a new survey from RISI, a trade organization and business information provider representing the forest products industry, predicts that total demand for paper for magazines and newspapers will drop 12% to 21% by 2015 -- attributing the slump directly to the rise of tablet-style computers and e-readers.

And that's just the beginning, according to RISI, which says paper usage will drop another 40% to 50% by 2025, potentially leaving some paper manufacturers reeling.

As noted, RISI draws a correlation between these projected decreases and the rise of digital devices. At the end of 2010, the RISI study estimates that 15 million tablets and 10 million e-readers were in use in North America, and North American sales of tablets alone are projected to total anywhere from 120 million to 190 million by 2015.

A survey by Morgan Stanley found that 42% of Americans who own a tablet said they plan to cancel their newspaper subscriptions; iBooks continue to be among the most popular free apps for the iPad; and Amazon revealed that digital books outsold print books in the U.S. last year.

What's more, there is still considerable room for digital book sales to increase, according to RISI, as overall adoption rates are just beginning to pick up. From under $100 million in 2007, total digital book sales have increased to about $750 million in 2010, the study estimates, while total print sales have tumbled from about $8.7 billion to $7.7 billion over the same period.

Although digital evangelists will find encouragement in these data, they paint a rather grim picture for paper suppliers.

John Maine, RISI vice president for world graphic paper, who led the study, stated that as "many graphic paper producers make their living selling paper to the publishing industry, those companies will be greatly affected by media tablets," warning that "significant demand impacts could come as soon as 2012."

(Source: Media Daily News, 08/22/11)