The Power of Data and Transparency in Media Buying and Planning

Adweek released its list of the 15 Most Innovative Agency Executives in Media Buying and Planning this week. The detailed list not only highlights the extraordinary qualities of the honored individuals but also the challenges of media buying and planning strategy in a rapidly evolving industry.

The rise and fall of various advertising formats has created a challenge for media buyers and planners. This becomes especially problematic when tools traditionally used for planning, such as Nielsen, lack transparency.

Scott Hagedorn, CEO of Hearts & Science, says of Nielsen, “they might be missing 40 percent of total video, because they’re missing a lot of the OTT data”. As millennials increasingly view content on mobile apps, the lack of streaming data presents a problem even while mobile devices allow for more individualized targeting.

The inclusion of data in creative strategies has helped agencies remain productive during times of change. The vice president of media operations for Horizon Media, Jennifer Dass, describes the most vital data as being, “accurate, actionable, and easily interpreted”.

In recent years, media planners and buyers have evolved into the realm of marketing strategists and the power of change is emphasized throughout Adweek’s article.  Andrea Millett, president of Havas Media New York, says, “I believe strongly in continuing to try new ways of doing things, new models and new iterations in every aspect”.

Transparency between agencies and clients is described as being essential in order to effectively reach target audiences. While this requires a simplification of media strategy at times, the resulting cooperation allows for “both an upper- and lower-funnel approach”.

Whether the campaign is digital, social, traditional, etc., top-notch media buyers and planners utilize individual skills as well as data and creativity to aid clients and consumers on the media journey.

GenX has more Affluents than Baby Boomers

Part of media strategy includes understanding the generation shifts in the consumer marketplace. For years, the Baby Boomers have had the majority of Affluent status in America. A new report shows that Generation Xers have recently become the majority, which is a first.

According to the Center for Media Research, the 2015 Ipsos Affluent Survey USA reports the following generation breakdown for American Affluents.

American Affluents by Generation (At Least a HHI of $100K)
Generation	Share of Affluent Population	Median Self-Reported Annual HHI
Millennials (18-33)	25%	$516K
GenX (34-50)	37%	$552K
Baby Boomers (51-69)	33%	$913K
Seniors (70+)	5%	$1.42M

The Affluent group consists of the top 23% of American households. This group is defined as adults living in households with a minimum annual household income of $100,000.

While the GenX population has topped the largest share amongst the Affluent, the Baby Boomers and Seniors still index high on the annual household income.

In addition, the study reflects how even people within the same generation can respond more like other age groups. Findings show that the younger side of GenX acts similar to Millennials in the marketplace, and the older side tend to be more like-minded with Baby Boomers.

Marketers will have to absorb this generation move and evaluate what this will mean for a brand. Strategies may have to be altered.

Report on time spent viewing video among American adults

As consumers have more devices available to watch television content, the question remains how much traditional television is still viewed.  According to research from Nielsen, while video viewing on PCs, smartphones and tablets increase, traditional TVs still have the biggest usage numbers.

MediaPost reports the findings that American adults watch video content weekly on the following devices in these increments:

·        Television: 36 hours and 7 minutes per week

·        Video on a PC (Personal Computer): 1 hour and 30 minutes

·        Video on a smartphone: 13 minutes

·        Video on a tablet: 11 minutes

The reach of these screens with adults breaks down as follows:

·        Television: 87.2%

·        Video on a smartphone: 36.9%

·        Video on a PC: 36%

·        Video on a tablet: 17.5%

Overall, TV still has a large audience potential. Even with the use of DVRs, OnDemand, and streaming services, there is still a significant portion of the population utilizing television.

Teens listen to music more on online streaming than radio

How do US teenagers primarily listen to music? Radio? Streaming? Owned music? For advertisers, it can be extremely important in knowing how a target audience seeks out media and entertainment. eMarketer recently reported on a fall 2014 study conducted by Edison Research. The focus was discovering how teens listen to music.

The study considered teenagers to be people between the ages of 13 and 17. As of fall 2014, online streaming platforms like Spotify and Pandora are ranked with more time spent listening than terrestrial radio. Teens spend about 64 minutes per day listening to online streaming and spend about 53 minutes a day with radio. In most other age categories, radio outperforms online streaming. In addition, teens have access to music through downloaded/owned music, etc.

With teenagers having a relatively easier access to computers, tablets, smartphones, and MP3 players that have Wi-Fi than traditional radios, it’s not surprising that there is a shift in listenership. Think about a bus commute, the time going to and from school on a bus could be new time spent listening to music.

It will be interesting to see if the gap between the time spent listening between radio and streaming will broaden over time as this age group matures out. The introduction of driving on a more regular basis where traditional radio is readily available may play a factor overall. 

Mobile devices show more traffic on e-commerce sites on Christmas Day

On Christmas Day 2014, did you make any online purchases? If yes, was it on a desktop computer, mobile phone, or tablet? Research from IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark showed that while PCs had less e-commerce traffic than mobile devices on Christmas, PCs did account for more final transactions. In fact, desktops had an estimated 65.2% of the total online sales.

The Center for Media Research reports that e-commerce traffic from mobile devices was approximately 57.1% followed by PCs at 42.6%. The average order value for a desktop purchase was about $107.72. Mobile devices only had an average order value of $88.70.

The report further breaks down the mobile devices into smartphone and tablet traffic. Smartphones had about 40.6% of the online traffic and 16.3% of online purchases. By comparison, tablets had 15.9% of the traffic and 18.4% of the online sales.

The mobile traffic has increased from years past, which makes sense considering more of the population is obtaining mobile devices, is becoming more comfortable with mobile purchases, and the fact that it was Christmas, and people may not have been near a desktop to browse e-commerce websites for deals. 

What digital ad size should you use for a campaign?

There are a lot of different kinds of online display ads available for advertisers. One of the most common questions we get is what is the best size to run? It really depends on the campaign, the objective, and the measurability. Are you tracking success as clicks? Viewability? Conversions? A new report discusses the ad sizes that tend to have the highest in-view rates.

The research comes from Moat Analytics and reports that the following are the ad sizes ranked as far as in-view rates for desktop computers.

·        65.8%: 970x250

·        62.1%: 300x600

·        55.0%: 160x600

·        52.6%: 300x250

·        49.5%: 728x90

Breaking this down, it’s not surprising that larger ads tend to have the highest viewability on site. These ad sizes tend to be set in positions above the fold on websites.

Also, eMarketer reports that the longer ads typically have longer viewing time. Meaning ads like 300x600 and 160x600 are viewed approximately for 21 seconds vs. the wider ads like 970x250 and 728x90 that are viewed from 16 – 17 seconds. Again, this is not surprising because a user may scroll down a page to read content, and the longer ads can still be seen on the screen.

When looking at the mobile ad display units, 320x50 has the best in-view rate of 64.6% and the 160x600 ad size has the best time viewed with 18.6 seconds.

Overall, our recommendation is to run multiple ad sizes for your campaign. As the campaign matures, look to see which ads are getting you the best results. Once you have established what results you are looking for, you can optimize and funnel more impressions towards the better performing sizes. Additionally, for the ads not performing as well, pause or remove them.  

Should companies move customer service to social media?

If you have a question for a company, what’s your first choice for reaching out for customer service? New research shows that while some companies have been emphasizing reachability through social media, most consumers don’t seek help from there.

eMarketer reports on the findings from American Express’ study “2014 Global Customer Service Barometer” which was conducted by ebiquity. According to this, 53% of internet users will use social media to praise a company for a great customer service experience. About the same amount of people 50% will reach out socially to talk negatively about a service situation. The next highest response was sharing information about personal customer experience at 46%. Coming in fourth place at 40% was reaching out to a company for help in regards to a service issue.

Research shows that people prefer to go to a company’s website or email when making a simple customer service inquiry. The next method preferred is speaking to real person on the phone. If dealing with a difficult question, people prefer an actual person on the phone the majority of the time. A close second is speaking with a person face-to-face. Reaching out to a company via social media was the least preferred choice for both the simple and difficult issues.

In summary, the report suggests that companies should utilize social media to reach out to consumers to continue brand awareness, and manage public relation situations and not be the primary means of customer service.

Print inserts still sought out by consumers

Print is not dead. While many people, consumers and advertisers alike, believe that print is dying, I disagree. It is true that with the addition of digital media, there are so many platforms to choose from when putting together an advertising plan. Sometimes, other media forms have to be cut in the process. Just like every type of media, print has an audience.

One of the unique qualities that print offers and consumers seek out is inserts. eMarketer recently reported on research conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates on behalf of the Newspaper Association of America. The purpose of the study was to see how Americans shopped and spent money in 2014.

Of those surveyed who have used inserts, 70% sought it out to check on special savings or what sales are being run. Another 48% reported that it was easier to review printed inserts than search online for the same information.

The study further broke down which sources were used to find coupons.

·        61% used Sunday newspaper inserts or circulars

·        58% used direct mail advertising

·        46% used weekday newspaper inserts or circulars

·        45% went online to download and print off coupons

·        39% downloaded coupons on a handheld device that could be scanned at the store

·        36% used online coupons to buy something online

·        32% used ads from the regular sections of the newspaper

·        25% used coupons from magazines

What consumers think of email marketing

One highly targetable method for advertisers to reach consumers is email marketing. The question, however, is how do consumers feel about receiving email blasts?

The Center for Media Research reported on a new research study titled, “Take Advantage of Positive Email Attitudes,” by Forrester Research. MarketingCharts helped to summarize the findings. Approximately 33,500 online users were polled.

Here are some highlights:

·        42% deleted most email advertising prior to reading (This was down from 59% in 2010 and 44% in 2012.)

·        39% felt that he/she received too many email promotions and offers

·        37% sought to unsubscribe from unsolicited email lists

·        29% wanted to know how advertisers got ahold of the email addresses

·        24% reported that email advertising was a good way to be informed of new products and promotions

What advertisers should take away from this study is to make your product as relevant as possible to your consumer. Buying a list of unsolicited addresses may not help perceptions and too many emails per week may tire your audience.

Youth tablet and mobile phone usage

Generally speaking, there are many devices that a consumer can utilize to access media. In the digital realm, there tends to be three major players: mobile phone, desktop/laptop computer, and tablet. New research dissects the user age demographics of mobile phones and tablets.

In the study, “The Mobile Device Path to Purchase: Parents & Children,” conducted by Communicus, there was a breakdown on media usage between the age groups preschoolers 2-5, kids 6-9, tweens 10-12, and teenagers 13-17. eMarketer reports the general findings:

Preschoolers 2-5:

·        37% of those surveyed use a mobile phone

·        71% use a tablet

Kids 6-9:

·        47% of those surveyed use a mobile phone

·        83% use a tablet

Tweens 10-12:

·        71% of those surveyed use a mobile phone

·        80% use a tablet

Teenagers 13-17:

·        94% of those surveyed use a mobile phone

·        65% use a tablet

Important to note is the shift between mobile phone and tablet usage and age. As kids grow into teenagers, tablet usage decreases while mobile phone increases. Kids between the ages of 6 and 9 tend to use the tablet the most.

Americans think certain topics get too much news coverage

The definition of news coverage varies depending on who you are asking. According to a new survey conducted by Harris Poll, some Americans think certain topics of news have been over exposed while others are lacking.

MediaPost reports that those polled felt that news had too much emphasis on entertainment, professional spectator sports, politics and superficial and sensational stories. In fact, about 76% stated celebrity gossip and scandals took up too much coverage in news reports.

In the same poll, people thought humanitarian issues, education, science, government corruption, health, global humanitarian issues, etc. received too little attention in the news.

Interesting to note is that Harris found that the audience had similar degrees of agreement to news coverage when looking at age generations. Meaning, people within the same age generation had similar attitudes towards certain news coverage. An example being that about 88% of older generations reported that celebrity gossip had too much coverage, 79% of baby boomers were in agreement, followed by 76% of Gen Xers, and 68% of millennials. 

New research studies evaluate online offers and what consumers prefer

Retailers could find it beneficial to sales if special offers are given to consumers. However, the kind of offer is important to the customer which may translate to more revenue for advertisers.

eMarketer reported on two studies conducted in regards to which special offers online consumers prefer. A poll produced by Retention Science asked which the most effective online customer incentive was for retailers. Results showed that close to a third of responders liked percentage discounts like a 20% off coupon. Immediately following was free or discounted shipping at almost 22%. The third top offer was a certain amount discount like a $15 off coupon.

The second study, which was done by Flagship Research for BlueHornet, looked to see if the age demographic affects how customers react to an advertiser offer. It appears that research supports that younger adults 18-45 prefer discount offers over free shipping options. In contrast, older adults 46-75 enjoy free shipping over discount coupons.

What advertisers need to take away from these two studies is that the consumer finds value in a “good deal.” So, know your target audience. This will help optimize selling your product or service to your customer. 

How Millennial Moms research and make purchases with digital devices

American consumers have a lot of choices on how to access the internet these days with desktops, mobile phones, and tablets. A new study focused on how Millennial Moms, women who are between the ages 18-34 and have at least one child, navigate their digital devices in regards to research and purchasing. For the study’s purposes, it focused on the four categories: retail, consumer electronics, consumer goods, and automotive.

MediaPost reports that the new study was conducted by Millennial Media and commissioned by the agency Ansible.

Details released include that roughly 30% of responders stated that smartphones were used in the “inspiration” and research phases of shopping. Twenty one percent used smartphones to make a purchase.

Looking at tablets, 25% used the device for research, and 18% used it for purchasing.

PCs seem to get the biggest research time when the consumer is looking for a high consideration purchase, like a car. A bigger screen and other available shopping tools give desktops the advantage.

It is suggested that advertisers focus on the context that each screen reaches the Millennial Mom. Meaning, if that consumer is using a certain device at home, at work, or in a store, it’s important to make the advertising messages relevant to each location and device.

US internet users weigh in on how they make purchases digitally

While digital purchasing can be the preferred payment method by the consumer on goods and services, it is wrong to state that consumers choose to buy all categories in that manner. eMarketer reports the results of a June 2014 study performed by Harris Interactive.

Not surprisingly, US internet users used a digital device of some kind (desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet) to purchase clothing 69% of the time. The remaining 31% had never purchased a clothing item online. 

Some of the categories that had internet users prefer a brick-and-mortar experience over a digital one were cosmetics and personal grooming, prescription medications, specialty food and beverages, over-the-counter medications, and general food purchases. Cosmetics and personal grooming was the only one among these groups that saw digital purchases reach past 30% at 35%.

A few categories had close to an even split between consumers who have purchased items online and those who never have. Those include accessories, personal electronics, and household electronics.

As marketers work to reach a target audience, it can be crucial to know how a product or service is purchased by a consumer.

More magazines launch vs. close in first half of 2014

According to the online database MediaFinder.com, the first half of 2014 welcomed approximately 93 new magazines in the media landscape. By comparison, 30 magazine titles closed during that time frame.

MediaPost reports that the biggest magazine category that launched was classified as “regional interest.” In addition, of the 93 new titles, approximately 15 of those were business-to-business geared magazines.

Of the publications that closed between January and June of this year, 13 of them were automotive enthusiast niche titles. Two noteworthy magazines ceased publication this year. The first being Jet and it will now just be an annual special print edition. Also, the long-running title Ladies’ Home Journal shut down the monthly print magazine. Instead, it is transitioning to a newsstand-only quarterly publication.

Overall, the total ad pages purchased have seen a 4% decline from 2013. First quarter of 2013 sold about 29,745 pages, and the same time period in 2014 showed 28,567 ad pages.

Electronic devices top lists for back-to-school shopping

With the passing of Labor Day, the swimming pools close down, and the schools start up for another year. Parents and students alike need to shop in order to prepare for a new term. Recent research shows that 2014 is anticipating a 5% increase in overall back-to-school shopping.

According to eMarketer, research conducted by ebiquity on behalf of American Express reports that electronic devices are the most expensive item on the shopping list. Below is a list that shows the average back-to-school spending for the last few years according to US Parent Internet users.

Category	2012	2013	2014
Electronic Devices			$529
Textbooks	$209	$193	$270
Clothing and Accessories	$241	$236	$265
Shoes	$102	$111	$129
Outerwear/Jackets	$97	$114	$114
Schools	$79	$102	$109

Interesting to note is that clothing and accessories had the most expensive category up until 2014 when electronic devices and textbooks usurped it.

Another report from PunchTab notes that mothers used smartphones to aid in shopping this year. About 48% of mothers surveyed planned to use smartphones to look for coupons or sales. The next reason at 30% is to compare store prices with other vendors. Approximately 37% of those surveyed do not plan to use a smartphone while shopping for supplies.

New study explains consumer opinion for out of home advertising

For advertisers, it can become challenging to keep track of consumer behavior research. Fortunately, the abundance of information is meant to help steer campaigns towards an engaged audience. A recent study performed by Future Foundation titled, Always On: Out of Home Lives 2014, breaks down how the public views out of home (OOH) advertising.

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America reported on key findings from the study. Research was conducted interviewing 6,000 respondents across six large, urban cities world-wide. 

Top highlights include:

·        A reported 59% said that OOH digital advertising would be relevant and interesting if it portrayed information that was localized and beneficial at a certain time of day or location. Examples are concerts, events, or discounts to local stores.

·        Approximately 72% of the 18-34s surveyed have viewed a billboard and taken some kind of action as a direct result.

·        About 35% reportedly selected OOH advertisements as the most memorable. Television was the primary memorable vehicle at 46%.

While this was a world-wide survey and not exactly representative of the whole American media landscape, it can give advertisers tips to re-work outdoor initiatives. 

Blogs evolve to keep readers engaged

Blogs have been around for a while now. The competition has become more intense which makes bloggers work to keep audiences engaged. In a recent eMarketer post, research conducted by Orbit Media Studios shows that almost 75% of bloggers now use at least one image in their posts. Images may include stock photos, diagrams, infographics, and/or charts.

Orbit Media Studios reported that although video and audio components are included in blogs, they are not as common as an image. About 15% of bloggers use video and less than 3% use audio.

When it comes to the promotion of blogs, nearly all US bloggers use social media. In fact, it’s estimated that about 94% of bloggers use social media. Other means of promotion include search engine optimization, email marketing, influencer outreach, paid services, etc. However, there is a small portion, less than 5%, who pay to promote posts.

Graphics go closely in line with the social aspect of blogging. Information recently released by TrackMaven reveals that between May 2013 and May 2014, 88% of brand post shares on Facebook worldwide that contained an image had an average post interaction of 2.35. This can be compared to the 12% without photos had an average post interaction of only 1.71. 

Consumers have higher time spent on mobile apps vs. mobile browsers

Over the last year, researchers have chronicled consumers’ mobile use. Smartphone and tablet owners are continuing to use downloaded apps more often than browsers and those numbers are predicted to increase. For advertisers, this means that shifting focus to advertising within the apps is important in order to keep up with the digital world.

eMarketer reports on research conducted by Nielsen in fourth quarter 2013.  Smartphone users in the United States are spending 65% more time on mobile apps than they were two years ago.  However, the amount of apps the smartphone owners had only increased from 23 to 27 in the last two years.  This indicates that users are increasing their time spent on mobile apps that they had already downloaded vs. accruing more.

Other research by comScore Media Metrix Multi-Platform proved that smartphone apps had the majority of time used with leading US digital media properties because of efficiency and mobile optimization. Media properties such as, Apple and Facebook, were mainly accessed through apps with 99% and 94%.  However, media properties such as Wikimedia Foundation sites and Glam Media were predominately accessed through their browsers with 88% and 84%.

Television is still prime media choice for US' youth

With all of the hype surrounding new technology and how the younger generations adapt earlier, it can lead to the question, what happens to the older technology? The simple answer is it is still there. eMarketer recently reported on a few studies that researched how younger audiences still consume television in spite of other newer digital options.

While the exact amounts of television consumption across younger age ranges differ amongst the research studies, each come to relatively the same conclusion. That is, television is still the primary media consumed by children. One study by Nielsen found that kids, between the ages of 2 and 11, watched approximately 111 hours and 10 minutes per month of “traditional” TV. These kids also spent another 10 hours and 45 minutes watching timeshifted television. In regards to content viewed on a DVD or Blu-ray player, children watched about 9 hours and 18 minutes per month. Another report by Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop put 8 to 10 year-olds as watching 1 hour and 24 minutes of TV per day. This information was according to the children’s parents.

With the introduction of streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, or Amazon, kids have more access to on-demand programming. While the adult counterparts have been accused of “binge viewing” TV and movie content, the term “déjà view” has become a moniker for younger audiences. This term describes the habits of repeatedly watching the same episode or movie many times. If you have kids, how many times have you seen Frozen?

Younger American audiences are watching TV. While researchers may argue the exact amounts, the fact remains that television consumption is still high with the younger audiences.