Nielsen: Mobile To Outpace Internet Growth

Mobile media will significantly outpace the Internet and other traditional media platforms -- especially in emerging and faster growth economies.

A new report from Nielsen Wire, with research from The Cambridge Group, says: "Defying classic economic models, the demand for communication (cell phones) leads traditional media growth, signifying a global, disruptive phenomenon." Growth for the Internet will continue -- but at more predictable growth patterns.

Strong mobile growth markets will be in those territories that have a rising financially strong middle class, so called BRIC countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Nielsen says this large economies are expected to grow on average by four or five percentage more than established economics for the next five years, 2010-2015 -- especially over G-7 nations, including the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.

Those BRIC nations -- and other countries -- are expected to see around a 7% growth rate in mobile versus developed countries 2% rise.

Mobile media platform growth occurs because access to mobile devices and services generally occurs at a lower household incomes levels. For example, Internet penetration in established economies generally requires a income threshold of around $20,000 of per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to achieve a 50% penetration rate in a specific territory. But for mobile penetration, household income levels can be as low as $5,000.

Estimates are that over the next 5-10 years, mobile penetration will climb to roughly 140 phones per 100 inhabitants, even in poorer economies. That means the gap between developed and emerging economies will have largely disappeared.

For the industry, a different structure for marketers and advertisers will apply, when it comes to marketing campaigns. Mobile will lead other media platforms.

Given this development, the study adds: "A reverse innovation model is evolving, where effective mobile advertising platforms are identified first in emerging markets, then transferred back for further refinement in established markets.

"The implications of the disruptive growth associated with mobile technology in emerging markets also should readily transfer to other industry sectors."

Las preferencias del consumidor están grabadas en sus neuronas

¿Qué papel juega el inconsciente en las decisiones de compra del consumidor? A esta pregunta ha tratado de responder recientemente un grupo de científicos del Centro Bernstein de Neurociencia Computacional de Berlín. Y la conclusión es que las preferencias del consumidor se pueden anticipar mediante la realización tomografías y resonancias magnéticas de su cerebro, informa Absatzwirtschaft.


Según el informe de John-Dylan Haynes, Anita Tusche y Stefan Bode, las decisiones de compra del consumidor pueden ser inferidas de las reacciones neuronales de su cerebro. Para la realización del estudio, los investigadores analizaron las reacciones neurológicas de dos grupos de personas de entre 22 y 32 años mediante tomografías.

Durante el experimento, la atención del primer grupo de personas se dirigió a diez modelos automovilísticos cuyo atractivo debían evaluar. La atención del segundo grupo se desvió hacia una segunda tanda de vehículos, que los sujetos analizados sólo podían reconocer en un segundo plano.

A continuación, una vez finalizadas las tomografías, se sometió a los participantes en el estudio a una encuesta sobre sus intenciones de compra. Los resultados de la encuesta se compararon después con las reacciones neuronales experimentadas por el sujeto examinado durante la exploración magnética. Y la conclusión fue que en un 75% de los casos la elección de compra de los dos grupos de personas examinadas guardaba relación con los circuitos neuronales de su lóbulo prefrontal medio.

Incluso en los sujetos del segundo grupo de análisis, cuya atención fue desviada a una segunda tanda de productos, fue posible predecir su posterior decisión de compra en base a la actividad neuronal detectada durante la tomografía.

Social Network Ad Spending to Approach $1.7 Billion This Year

Social network advertising is getting renewed attention in 2010. The US’s gradual economic recovery, combined with marketers’ incessant focus on reaching consumers in social media, has led companies to make big increases in social network ad spending in the first half of 2010.

eMarketer estimates US advertisers will spend $1.68 billion on social networking sites this year, a more than 20% increase over 2009. Spending will rise even further by 2011 to more than $2 billion.

In December 2009, eMarketer forecast $1.3 billion in social network ad spending for 2010. Strong performance from online ad spending in general, and Facebook in particular, has resulted in the increased forecast.

Facebook will receive half of all social network ad spending in the US while MySpace continues to diminish in importance. Twitter, which finally launched its ad business earlier this year, is incorporated into eMarketer’s forecast for the first time. While spending on the microblogging service will be low in 2010, the potential for 2011 and beyond could be dramatic if it proves that its “resonance” model of measuring advertising effectiveness works.

Spending on social network advertising will grow even more quickly elsewhere in the world. In 2010, eMarketer estimates just over half of social network ad spending worldwide will come from the US, but 2011 will bring a reversal in that proportion.

Another important development in the social network space is the role of online social games and applications. Advertising is not a primary revenue stream for game companies such as Zynga or Playdom, but their large audiences are drawing the interest of marketers. eMarketer expects such companies will attract $293 million in spending worldwide in 2011, up from $220 million in 2010.

Email Dominates Mobile Web Time

Email, portals stay ahead of social networking—at least on mobile devices Social networking has become such a staple of online activity in the US that, according to Nielsen, internet users spent more time on social networking sites and blogs than doing any other activity in June 2010. Games, which came in second, took up less than half as much time.

On the mobile internet, however, more traditional activities still reign. Email dominated the mobile picture even more strongly than social networking did the desktop: If all time spent on the mobile web was condensed into a single hour, US internet users would have spent 25 minutes in June checking email. Portals would have received another 7 minutes, with social networks not far behind.


Nielsen reported that social networking has been closing the gap in time spent on the mobile internet, gaining share since last year as portals dropped in importance over the same period.

But email remains one of the most popular mobile internet activities not just by time spent but also by penetration. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 34% of all US mobile subscribers used email on their phone in May 2010, compared with 23% who used a social networking site.

comScore also reported mobile email usage via a browser ahead of social networking. That research found search had the highest penetration of any mobile browsing activity, but search is less time-intensive than email or social sites.

Social should continue to make gains in the mobile realm, however. comScore reported it was the fastest-growing mobile internet activity between 2009 and 2010, rising 80%in usage, while email grew more slowly. Bridge Ratings predicted in June that mobile social networking would grow twice as quickly as email during the next 12 months.

The growing penetration of smartphones will be a key factor in increased mobile social networking. According to comScore, 53% of smartphone users participated in social networking activities on the go, compared with just 11% of feature phone owners.

Mobile commerce market worth $2.5B and growing: panelist

The mobile commerce market is worth $2.5 billion today, and will grow four times in the next couple of years, according to a panelist at the eTail 2010 Social media & Mobile Commerce Summit.

Retailers should focus on developing mobile commerce services to reach the growing number of smartphone users, because the market for mobile sales will increase dramatically in the next few years, according to panelists.

“There’s been a lot of hype and buzz and hyperbole, overall,” said Colin Sebastian, senior vice president of equity research, Internet and interactive entertainment at Lazard Capital Markets, New York. “2009 and 2010 put mobile on the map, and in 2011 and 2012 we’ll start to see more meaningful revenues.

“The market is worth 2.5 billion dollars in mobile commerce transactions,” he said. “That number should double over each of the next couple of years. Apple and iPhone were inflection points, and the iPad as well.

“I would also focus on Android, since adoption is increasing significantly. By the end of next year, there will be 100 million iPhones worldwide, and 100 million Android devices.”

Panelists at the eTail 2010 conferenceThe “Mobile commerce trends and best practices revealed,” panel was moderated by Marci Troutman, founder/CEO of Siteminis, Atlanta, and structured as a question and answer session.

The major themes covered were the growth of mobile commerce, strategies and tactics for newcomers to the medium and best practices.

Email Dominates Mobile Web Time

Email, portals stay ahead of social networking—at least on mobile devices Social networking has become such a staple of online activity in the US that, according to Nielsen, internet users spent more time on social networking sites and blogs than doing any other activity in June 2010. Games, which came in second, took up less than half as much time.

On the mobile internet, however, more traditional activities still reign. Email dominated the mobile picture even more strongly than social networking did the desktop: If all time spent on the mobile web was condensed into a single hour, US internet users would have spent 25 minutes in June checking email. Portals would have received another 7 minutes, with social networks not far behind.

Nielsen reported that social networking has been closing the gap in time spent on the mobile internet, gaining share since last year as portals dropped in importance over the same period.

But email remains one of the most popular mobile internet activities not just by time spent but also by penetration. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 34% of all US mobile subscribers used email on their phone in May 2010, compared with 23% who used a social networking site.

comScore also reported mobile email usage via a browser ahead of social networking. That research found search had the highest penetration of any mobile browsing activity, but search is less time-intensive than email or social sites.


Social should continue to make gains in the mobile realm, however. comScore reported it was the fastest-growing mobile internet activity between 2009 and 2010, rising 80%in usage, while email grew more slowly. Bridge Ratings predicted in June that mobile social networking would grow twice as quickly as email during the next 12 months.

The growing penetration of smartphones will be a key factor in increased mobile social networking. According to comScore, 53% of smartphone users participated in social networking activities on the go, compared with just 11% of feature phone owners.

Online Marketing In China: The Travel Agencies' View

According to figures released by China Internet Network Information Center, between the end of 2009 to July 2010 the number of Internet users in China increased by 36 million to 420 million, surpassing the 400 million mark. At the same time the Internet popularity rate increased 2.9 percentage points to 31.8%.


The number of broadband users was 363.81 million, accounting for 98.1% of the country's total Internet users. The number rural residents using the Internet hit 115.08 million, accounting for 27.4% of the total, 7.7% more than that at the end of last year. The number of users above the age of 30 rose to 41%, compared to the 38.6% at the end of 2009.

The CNNIC report showed that the Chinese people are increasingly using the Internet for commercial, entertainment, and communication purposes. In the first half of 2010, more people in China used the Internet and the user base of online applications continued to expand. Commercial applications have been in a spotlight. The number of users of online payment, online shopping and online banks is reported to have increased by about 30%, far more than any other purposes. Social net-working websites, Internet literature and online search services have also become more and more popular. The mobile phone network application developed smoothly, with users focusing more on information and communication.

These figures suggest that the purpose of Internet has shifted from information to commerce at a n increasing pace. Online marketing has become an essential tool for modern businesses. As for the travel industry, the Internet has been widely used both by travel agencies and newly-emerging travel websites, and this enables users to receive information, do product and price comparisons and complete transactions online. But for traditional travel agencies, how widely can online marketing be used and is there any room for advancement? How to use online-marketing on targeted clients and increase user retention so as to meet the goal of promoting themed products? Our reporter interviewed some industry experts.

Las mujeres utilizan las revistas para “cazar tendencias”

A la hora de “cazar nuevas tendencias”, las revistas resultan ser las mejores aliadas de las mujeres. Según un estudio llevado a cabo en Alemania por Bauer Media Group, el 81% de las mujeres de entre 20 y 39 años recurre a las revistas para informarse sobre nuevas tendencias, informa Horizont.

Los social media ganan también en importancia como a catalizadores de tendencias y una de cada dos mujeres dice recurrir a ellos para estar a la última.

¿Cuáles son las tendencias que más acaparan la atención de las mujeres? Según el informe de Bauer Media Group, a las féminas les gusta fundamentalmente seguir las últimas tendencias en zapatos y bolsos.

En cuanto a marcas, las favoritas de las mujeres son Mango, Closed y Guess, entre las convencionales, y Louis Vuitton, Prada y Chloé, entre las de lujo.

Finalmente, Jennifer Aniston es el modelo a seguir para la mayoría de las mujeres consultadas. El 20% ve en la actriz estadounidense un espejo en el que mirarse. En el lado opuesto se sitúa la cantante británica Amy Winehouse, cuyos estilismos se llevan la reprobación del 44% de las mujeres encuestadas.

Mobile commerce will continue its growth in 2010

Analysts and industry insiders are predicting a big growth year for mobile commerce in 2010.

ABI Research ran a forecast of mobile sales of physical goods in North America in January 2009, which projected mobile commerce sales would reach $544 million in 2009, up 57 percent over 2008. But in October, it increased its forecast, saying sales would top $750 million in 2009, a 117 percent annual growth rate, showing that the space is growing faster than expected.

“The industry experts are predicting that mobile commerce is going to take off in 2010, and given our own indicators, we do too,” said Kevin Grieve, CEO of Mocapay, Denver. “We expect to see mobile commerce continue to grow in importance and adoption as retailers focus on their most loyal customers and stickiness.”

As big media brands and publishers scramble to come up with a strategy to monetize their content via mobile, various models are being explored, from pay-per-download applications to subscription services to micropayments.

Small screen for big screen
Rupert Murdoch is attempting to move forward with a paid model for Fox’s news content on mobile phones.

While mobile commerce will continue to grow in the media sector, the majority of the action in the space will continue to be in the retail sector.

“Mobile commerce will continue to increase in 2010,” said Nicola Smith, supervisor of emerging trends at Moxie Interactive, Atlanta. “Fifty-one percent of mobile commerce users have purchased consumer electronics via their mobile phone, and we continue to see that trend grow.

“Some of the highest purchase items on mobile are technology-based items such as PCs and laptops,” she said. “Look at Amazon—one of their highest selling items via mobile phones are flat-screen televisions.

“People go into the store to see the models, but then they go onto Amazon.com on their handset to compare prices—there’s an interesting cross-section between the brick-and-mortar and digital shopping environments.”

Dealmap app aggregates and maps nearby local deals

The Dealmap is providing a resource for consumers to find and share local deals via a new application available in Apple’s App Store.

The new application gives consumers a view of nearby local and daily deals, letting iPhone and iPod touch users access more than 350,000 local deals throughout the United States and Britain. People can also filter deals by business categories or type of deal, as well as add and share deals with their friends.

“Our iPhone app is the first to give a comprehensive view of the deals around you, with more than 350,000 local deals,” said Dan Visnick, vice president of marketing at The Dealmap, Menlo Park, CA. “The Dealmap is the only app to aggregate daily deals from Groupon, Living Social and various other sources, and consumers and businesses can add deals.

“One of our goals is to give people access to local deals wherever and whenever they want them—via Facebook, Twitter, email and now access to comprehensive list of local deals via the application,” he said.

“This is our first foray into mobile, and we’re also working on an Android app right now.”

The Dealmap is owned and operated by Center’d Corp., a local search and discovery company that organizes and distributes unique content based on its SentimentAnalysis technology.

The Dealmap aggregates local deals on the Web and makes them available to consumers through its Web site, social applications, daily emails and now its mobile application.

Currently, more than 300,000 people receive daily deal updates through the company’s email and Twitter programs.

Las 10 reglas de la sinceridad en publicidad

Que la publicidad tiende a la exageración es algo con lo que el consumidor ya cuenta de antemano. Sin embargo, una cosa es sobredimensionar las ventajas de un producto o servicio y otra mentir descaradamente sobre él. Moverse en las arenas movedizas de la verdad y la mentira en publicidad resulta en ocasiones bastante complicado. A fin de facilitar la tarea, la revista W&V publica las siguientes diez reglas de la sinceridad en publicidad:

1. Cuando en un anuncio predomina la falta de sinceridad, el interés inicial del consumidor puede ser grande, pero aún más lo será su posterior decepción.

2. El cliente es muy sensible a la mentira en lo referente a la publicidad de alimentos.

3. Si la mentira afecta al núcleo central del mensaje publicitario, el consumidor se sentirá muy decepcionado al descubrir la verdad. Por este motivo, si vamos a maquillar la realidad, es mejor que los retoques sólo afecten a los pequeños detalles.

4. Habiendo dinero de por medio, no hay amistad que valga.

5. El consumidor sufre una gran decepción cuando descubre que el supuesto valor añadido de una marca no se aplica a todos los productos y servicios que integran dicha marca.

6. Las campañas de imagen contienen siempre más mentiras que las campañas de producto.

7. Los productos de uso diario resisten muy mal la ausencia de honestidad por parte del anunciante.

8. Los hombres son muy poco tolerantes a la mentira en publicidad.

9. Hoy en día el consumidor parte ya siempre de la base de que la publicidad no es totalmente honesta.

10. A pesar la mentira, la publicidad deshonesta puede ser en ocasiones muy exitosa.

Should Internet retailers print catalogs?

The US Postal Service is encouraging e-retailers to turn to print catalogs to raise revenue. Our experts debate whether they should expand their reach to print or stay ‘green'

CONTENDER

Pat McGrew - Data-driven communication segment evangelist, Kodak
More than 25 years of experience

Yes. There is no doubt that e-marketing can be an extremely cost-effective way to promote products and services, but there is also no question that as a sole marketing channel, the reach of its message is limited.

Internet connectivity is not unanimous, and the desire to connect for the purpose of trolling marketing messages is suspect.

A recent report from MailerMailer (E-mail Marketing Metrics Report, July 26) tells us that the open rates for e-mail marketing have declined to 11.2%. Even at their height in 2007, marketing e-mail open rates were only 14%.

So, what is a marketer to do? You know you have great products to offer, but how do you get consumers to take a look?

Think about who influences you. The most successful communicators are those who use multiple channels to tell their story or make their case. When someone just talks at you, do you absorb what they say? Most people tune out after a minute or two. However, someone who changes his or her voice, gesticulates and provides compelling visuals gets your attention and holds it. Likewise, it takes multiple channels to successfully communicate.

This is why a customized print catalog, married to a great e-marketing campaign, is the logical expansion of the marketing plan. A well-designed catalog is a fabulous way to demonstrate that you know the customers and won't waste their time, while at the same time teasing them with ideas for things they may not be searching for on their own.

CONTENDER

Eric Bryant
Director, Gnossis Arts Multimedia Communications
Five-plus years' SEO/ecommerce experience

No. Branching out to catalogs may be counterproductive and not cost effective for e-retailers.

For one, today's consumer is digital, and he or she wants to be communicated to in a digital environment.

Macy's launched its summer catalog on the iPad. Understanding that many of its shoppers want fashion advice in a digital format, the retailer is now providing its 60-page summer catalog in the digital editions of 20 women's magazines, using Flash and digitization technology from Zinio.

Creating a print catalog is also not a “green” idea. It wastes paper, which wastes trees, which is considered bad for the environment.

The Environmental Defense Fund estimated that retailers send out some 17 billion catalogs a year, using 3.6 million tons of paper. This could have negative PR ramifications. In today's “green-thinking” culture, a negative review is just a Tweet, blog post or Yelp review away.

Indeed, most consumers are now accustomed to checking out hotels, airlines, restaurants, cosmetics, fashion, pet supplies and even organic food and groceries online. The

Internet is where we live. As Macy's discovered, the Web now holds advantages over the catalog. LL Bean, the catalog mogul, has seen the majority of its customers move to Web-based retail.

Online marketing also allows a brand to tap the power of search engine optimization and allows a company to sell globally with ease.

DMNEWS' DECISION

E-commerce gains a bigger portion of retailers' sales revenue every year. However, catalogs also provide brands with another, well-established route for reaching consumers. If their e-retailing numbers are fl at, companies should consider catalogs to open a new revenue stream and reach more consumers.


By www.dmnews.com

Nielsen: Consumers spending more time on social networks, less time with e-mail

US consumers spend almost a quarter of their online time on social networking sites and blogs, according to research from Nielsen. However, consumers are spending 28% less online time using e-mail, according to the measurement company.

The time consumers spend on social networks jumped 43% from last year's 15.8% of online time. The study, “What Americans Do Online,” also found that e-mail has dropped significantly in its share of online time, from 11.5% to 8.3% of the total. E-mail is now the third most popular online activity, behind social networks at 22.7% and online games at 10.2%, down from second place in 2009.

Other categories also saw double-digit drops, with portals decreasing 19% to 4.4% of Internet time, and instant messaging sinking 15% to 4% overall. This data emphasizes the rapid ascendancy of social media, and serves as a reminder to marketers where consumers are spending their time.

“Five years ago, this was a real niche, but now it's clearly mainstream,” says Peter DeLegge, principal at marketing consultancy B2B Digital.

He added that marketers should follow consumers wherever they go, even into unfamiliar territory.

“I think that's part of the error that marketers make when they assess these things — they think about the longevity. But if your campaign is lasting a few months, I don't think that's a critical factor,” he said. “As soon as the next thing pops up, that's where the people are; that's where you should be.”

The strong showing by online games also points to their potentially overlooked value as a marketing platform. The only other category to show double-digit growth was online videos and movies, which increased 12% to 3.9% of online time.