St. Patrick's On Saturday: A Mixed Blessing

With St. Patrick's Day looming, retailers, restaurants and bartenders all over the country are thinking green, and hoping that the holiday landing on a Saturday this year will boost bucks.

A survey by the National Retail Federation predicts that 54.4% of Americans plan to celebrate the traditionally Irish holiday this year, the highest in the nine years the NRF has been conducting the research. On average, the NRF forecasts that each of these leprechauns will spend $35, for a total of $4.6 billion.

Eight out of ten say they will wear green, 28.2% plan to go to a party at a bar or restaurant, 19.1% plan to go to a private party, 23.8% will decorate their home or office, and 32.3% will make a special dinner to celebrate.

But for restaurants, having the holiday fall on a weekend may be a bit of a bummer. "Weekends are typically busier than weekdays for restaurants, so it's actually better for the restaurant operator when holidays fall on a slower day of the week, like Monday or Tuesday, for a traffic boost," says a spokesperson for the National Restaurant Association.

Others are betting that the weekend timing will extend festivities, and mean bigger spending all around. In Philadelphia, for example, where the Irish are the second-largest ethnic group, "every bar, restaurant, and practically every street corner is packed, even if St. Patrick's Day falls on a Tuesday," says Denise Foley, editor of Irishphiladelpia.com. "Having it fall on a Saturday is going to be like Black Friday after Thanksgiving for local merchants and bar/restaurant owners. It's a day when anyone selling anything Irish is going to make their profit for the year. It's all good."

Some cities are worried that crowd control will be a greater issue than usual. Organizers in Hoboken, N.J. actually cancelled its parade after they were told it would have to take place on a weekday to manage the mayhem. (The city is still delaying bar openings, bringing in extra cops, and adding 50% more portable toilets than in years past.)

(Source: Marketing Daily, 03/08/12)

Mobile and Video Grab a Greater Share of Digital Ad Budgets

Marketers must diversify their ad investments across a wider variety of digital channels to keep up with today's media consumption habits.

Not surprisingly, digital ad agency ValueClick media found U.S. marketers' digital advertising budget allocation for 2012 was expected to mirror popular consumer usage trends, resulting in more spending on mobile and video efforts.

Almost half (49%) of U.S. marketers surveyed by ValueClick planned to boost video ad spending, and 65% noted increases to their mobile budgets for 2012. These two channels also saw the smallest number of marketers who said they planned to decrease spending: 3% for mobile and 2% for video.

In December 2011, 66% of U.S. marketers said they planned to spend between 1% and 24% of their 2012 digital budget on mobile, compared to 50% last year. In addition, 52% of U.S. marketers planned to allocate a similar portion to video, up nearly 27% from 2011.

Additional data showed the vast majority of respondents (94%) planned to purchase standard mobile banner ads. Roughly half also planned to buy mobile rich media ads (53%) and mobile video ads (49%).

Such high levels of interest in standard mobile display ads will help U.S. mobile ad spending skew further toward rich media and banner advertising this year. Ad spending on these two formats will comprise one-third of total US mobile ad spending in 2012, or $861.7 million, according to eMarketer estimates. Video will account for 5.8%, or $151.5 million, of the year's $2.61 billion in total US mobile ad spending.

The greatest share of U.S. mobile ad spending will continue to go to search, expected to account for 49% of all ad dollars this year. This is unsurprising, given that mobile is still working to achieve mass reach and scale—two common prerequisites for display advertisers. In the meantime, mobile search advertising will continue to dominate mobile ad spending.

In terms of mobile campaign measurement practices, additional data from ValueClick showed that, in December 2011, marketers were just slightly more likely to measure their mobile efforts with brand-health metrics as opposed to direct-response measures. And ValueClick found the highest percentage (63%) of U.S. marketers measured mobile performance using clickthrough rate.

For now, mobile appears to be a channel equally employed for branding and direct-response objectives, and measurement metrics reflect that near-equal division.

(Source: eMarketer, 03/12/12)

Becoming an 'Unpaid Consultant'

The highest compliment that a customer can ever pay you is to confer upon you the title of "Unpaid Consultant." To want your opinion when they are not buying. To value your knowledge enough to want to take advantage of your expertise.

Examples: If you sell automobiles, to get your opinion on which of a competitor's two models is a better choice for a child going to college. If you sell printing, your thoughts on whether a new ink is appropriate for a packaging project that doesn't actually involve you.

The point is this: People don't ask for input from those whose opinions they do not value. When a customer asks for your advice under these circumstances, the message is loud and clear: They view you as an expert. Give the request your very best effort, every time. I assure you, you will be rewarded many times over.

Leasing Boom? Not So Fast

Dealers looking for a big increase in leasing this year may be disappointed.

Some forecasters see a leasing boom this year and beyond. And one even suggested leases will account for 40 percent of new-vehicle deals by the end of the decade, up from 30 percent in 2007.

But new data from Experian Automotive show lease penetration for new-vehicle volume was flat in the fourth quarter last year -- down slightly, in fact, at 23.1 percent from 23.7 percent the year before -- after two years of growth. And that, the company says, is where it could stay.

"It's starting to look like this is what the market bears for leases," said Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive credit for Experian Automotive.

She isn't alone.

"There are real reasons why those who are optimistic about leasing should be optimistic, but the realities don't seem to be following those reasons," said Paul Cuevas, director of automotive finance for J.D. Power and Associates.

Cuevas cited three interrelated reasons why lease penetration seems to have topped out for now at around 20 percent of new-vehicle retail: Lenders are leery of again being burned by inflated residual values, consumers are keeping their cars longer, and low interest rates favor purchases over leases.

In addition, the downsized Detroit Big 3 have lowered their breakeven points since the recession. They're not as highly motivated to get units out the door by subventing leases as they were before restructuring.

A single quarter of lower lease penetration in the fourth quarter of 2011 doesn't make a trend. But the rate of increase in leasing has been diminishing ever since the third quarter of 2010, Power Information Network data show.

Lease penetration was 19.5 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 20.2 percent a year earlier, PIN said. Lease share of new-vehicle retail sales bottomed out at 10.3 percent in the third quarter of 2009.

Experian Automotive, using a different methodology, said lease penetration was 23.1 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 23.7 percent a year ago. For all of 2011, Experian Automotive said, the average lease penetration was 23.7 percent, up only a fraction from 23.5 percent in 2010.

Zabritski said that leasing is back to around the same level it was before the credit freeze and the recession. Maybe it's too much to expect leasing to keep growing beyond that level, she said.

"This tends to be about where it had been, going back as far as 2006, before we had all these troubles," she said.

Still, there are some reasons for optimism.

The growth in leasing has enjoyed a tailwind in the form of higher used-car prices. Used-car prices have stopped increasing like they did in the past couple of years, but they are still at a high level in historical terms.

Data from ADESA Auctions Inc. show that the average wholesale used-vehicle price at auction was $9,878 in December 2011. That was a 9.5 percent increase from December 2008 but only 0.5 percent increase from December 2010.

Higher used-car prices mean auto lenders are less likely to lose money on lease returns. The used-car shortage that's supporting used-car prices is expected to persist at least through this year.

Leasing also remains high for luxury import captives such as Mercedes-Benz Financial, at 64 percent leasing in the fourth quarter; or BMW Financial Services, at 62 percent leasing, according to Experian.

Finally, several automakers have expressed an interest in higher lease penetration. GM bought the former AmeriCredit in October 2010 in part to get closer to the industry average in leasing. The company said it is unlikely to reach industry average because it sells a high percentage of trucks, an area in which leasing is less popular.

GM reported its U.S. lease penetration was 11.1 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 12.9 percent a year ago. For all of 2011, GM's lease penetration was 13.2 percent, up from 9 percent in 2010, spokesman Jim Cain says.

According to Experian Automotive, captives for the three biggest Japanese brands had above-average lease share in the fourth quarter, with Toyota Financial Services at 30.6 percent, American Honda Finance at 40.8 percent and Nissan-Infiniti Financial Services at 45.8 percent. Those figures include their respective luxury brands.

Taking advantage of improved residual values, Hyundai Capital America, which serves both Hyundai and Kia brands, had a 53 percent lease share in the fourth quarter, according to Experian. VW Credit had a 53.7 percent lease share.

However, leasing has become pretty much the domain of the captive finance companies as banks stay away, J.D. Power's Cuevas said.

The manufacturers want "to shorten trade cycles and length of ownership," he said, adding: "Leasing definitely does that for the manufacturer. There's also a higher propensity for that customer to purchase a similar-make vehicle if they come from a lease."

Leasing is likely to grow more rapidly if and when the manufacturers pour enough incentives into it to make that happen. For the most part, that doesn't seem to be the case, Cuevas said.

He added: "A huge factor in lease vs. purchase is the lease offer itself."

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Why Leasing Growth May Stall

Auto lenders are risk-averse: Lenders got badly burned on inflated residual values in the credit freeze and the recession. In 2008, the domestic captives lost billions when the bottom fell out of resale values for big pickups and SUVs coming off leases. Ford Motor Credit Co. and Ally Financial Inc. have come back in leasing to an extent, but big banks' auto finance units, such as Chase Auto Finance, have largely stayed away.

Customer demand is changing: Customers are keeping their cars longer. The average trade-in is now 6.5 years old, according to the Power Information Network. The average car on the road is close to 11 years old, according to R.L. Polk Co. Customers are less interested in 3- or 4-year leases, J.D. Power's Paul Cuevas said. Not only that, there has been a shift to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, an area in which lease penetration historically is low, he said.

Interest rates are low: Because interest rates are low -- the prime rate is only 3.25 percent -- it's relatively cheap, and certainly less risky for lenders, to buy down the interest rate on a loan instead of taking a chance on residual values, Cuevas said.

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(Source: Automotive News, 03/07/12)

Buying Station Websites...Why it makes cents!

Why Buy Local Television Station Websites? Local broadcast TV station websites reach local consumers, where they live and make purchases.  And more adults turn to local TV station websites for local news and event information than any other local sites.

Adults Who Have Visited Websites Affiliated
with Local Broadcast Television Stations

 

 

More Adults Visit Local Television Station Websites for
Local News and Event Information

	18+	18-34	18-49	25-54
Local television station website(s)	52.3	52.4	54.7	53.2
Local newspaper website(s)	43.2	41.5	39.8	42.0
Local radio station website(s)	9.3	14.4	11.6	10.9
Other Local Site(s)	6.6	5.0	7.2	8.2
None/Don't know	2.5	2.1	2.3	2.0

TVB Media Comparisons Study 2010.  Knowledge Networks, Inc. Custom Study

Hyper-Local Websites

Local TV station microsites offer highly-targeted neighborhood and lifestyle content to reach specific consumer groups and advertiser retail zones. They feature community news and user-generated content about area happenings and events. Local businesses benefit from the opportunity to connect with potential customers and drive traffic and to their door.  And integrating an on-air campaign with an online component, maximizes effectiveness across platforms.
Hyper-local website opportunities include:

• Search
• Coupons
• Business Directories
• Ad Targeting

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)

Consumers Plan a Steady Budget Equal to 2011, According to Survey

More than 51 percent of consumers plan to spend the same amount of money in 2012 as in the previous year, according to a 2012 Shopping Outlook survey conducted by PriceGrabber, a part of Experian.

While more than half of the survey respondents plan to spend the same amount of money as they did last year, 21 percent indicated they plan to spend more, and 28 percent plan to spend less. Conducted from Jan. 26 to Feb. 13, 2012, the survey includes responses from 933 U.S. online shopping consumers.

Reasons to spend this year
When those who plan to spend more were asked to select all of the reasons why, 36 percent cited confidence in the economy, and another 36 percent said that they expect retailers to offer better discounts this year.

Thirty percent indicated that they are earning more money in 2012, 6 percent said that they are tired of being frugal, 5 percent cited a credit limit increase, and another 5 percent have found employment in the past year.

When the respondents who plan to spend less this year were asked to select all of the reasons why, 40 percent cited increases in prices such as gas, food and necessities; 34 percent said lack of confidence in the economy. Twenty-nine percent indicated they were making less money this year, and 16 percent said they overspent during the 2011 holiday season.

"Our data shows that shoppers plan to remain optimistically cautious with their spending again this year and expect retailers to continue to offer deals and incentives on products," said Graham Jones, general manager of PriceGrabber. "We expect retailers will continue to roll out a number of tactics, such as free shipping, larger discounts and online-only promotions to help win the consumer dollar this year, while implementing strategies that will span brick-and-mortar, online and mobile shopping platforms to entice consumers to shop."

Electronics, clothing top shopping lists
When consumers were asked to select all of the items and activities on which they plan to spend more in 2012, more than half said consumer electronics and clothing, followed closely by travel and vacations, household supplies and dining out.

Twenty-nine percent said they will spend more on furniture, books or DVDs, followed by jewelry, toys, events, sporting goods and fitness memberships.

Daily deal sites still popular
The daily deal industry looks like it will remain strong in 2012. Forty-six percent of the PriceGrabber survey respondents indicated that they plan to use daily deal sites, such as Groupon, Living Social or PriceGrabber's local deals category, more often in 2012 than in 2011.

When consumers who plan to use these sites more frequently were asked to select all of the categories they will search the most, 53 percent said food and dining, 46 percent said shopping, 42 percent said entertainment and events, and 34 percent said family and kids.

Online, brick-and-mortar and mobile shopping
When asked how they plan to shop in 2012, 45 percent of PriceGrabber survey respondents said they will combine online, brick-and-mortar and mobile shopping. Forty-two percent said they will shop mostly online, 12 percent will shop mostly in brick-and-mortar stores, and 1 percent will shop primarily from a mobile device.

According to the survey, the average shopper will make 53 percent of his or her overall purchases online, 42 percent from brick-and-mortar stores and 5 percent from a mobile phone.

(Source: PriceGrabber, 02/28/12)