Partner Spotlight: Sarah Malone

Question: I’m looking to include online as part of my advertising budget. What sizes and creative formats will have the most impact?

Answer: Research has shown that particular sizes, formats and positioning of online advertising have a direct effect on online ad awareness. Based on findings released by the Center for Media Research/Dynamic Logic, half-page banners and rectangles were the most effective ad sizes for online advertising. Awareness for these sizes was also increased due to the traditional placement of these advertising sizes within the body of an online page. Ad sizes on the perimeter of the page, such as skyscrapers and leaderboards, were less effective in driving awareness.

The research also concluded that ad campaigns with better quality creative, including Rich Media and video formats, resulted in the strongest brand impact. Simple flash format was the worst performer for brand impact, but is often the most used format by advertisers. Rich Media and video can carry a higher price than flash advertising, but ad awareness and impact should be considered along with budget.

When looking at online advertising, it is important to consider ad sizes, placements and creative quality as well as budget to best insure ad and brand awareness.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

Ad pages in monthly magazines receive a boost in May

When advertising in a print medium, be selective in the category of the publication to better cater to your target audience

The Media Industry Newsletter (MIN) is a continual watchdog for media and how it progresses in spite of a down economy.

According to MediaPost, the company describes an upswing for magazine advertising revenue. In fact, reports suggest that monthly magazines are showing a 3.2% increase in total ad pages for the month of May. This increase is in comparison to May 2009.

While 91 monthly magazines tracked by MIN saw an increase, 27 titles of the 154 total decreased in ad pages. Specific categories like beauty and fashion noted gains while others like automotive and shelter observed declines.

Despite the first quarter of 2010 marking the ninth consecutive quarter of losses for the magazine industry, the May boost to ad revenue is a small step towards industry recovery. When advertising in a print medium, be selective in the category of the publication to better cater to your target audience.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

The FTC looks to instruct kids with a new gaming website

Becoming an informed consumer can happen at any age.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with the help of the PR agency Fleishman-Hillard, has recently announced that it has produced a new website for kids. The gaming website Admongo.gov is part of a campaign to help children become ad literate.

According to MediaPost, the site is catered to those between the ages of 8 and 12 years old. The intention behind the Admongo curriculum is to aid parents and teachers in instructing kids how to identify advertisements and become an informed consumer.

To make it fun and relatable to the youth, he/she is able to create an avatar and play in four levels which are The Atrium, Assemblimater, Planadtarium and Adgitator. One level teaches the player how to recognize an advertisement and then rewards that player with coins to increase his/her score. Other levels include establishing a target demographic and analyzing product pitches.

While Admongo.gov may appear to be just another new gaming site as far as the adolescents are concerned, the intention is to help utilize critical thinking applications in this congested media world.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

First-run cable series have a higher emotional connection with viewers than most network programming

A high emotional connection to a TV show can lead to a steady audience for your campaign.

The emotional connection that viewers have with television programs is thought to be in correlation with a higher viewer engagement level. The Q Scores Company, which is part of Marketing Evaluations, created a measuring tool called Emotional Bonding Q index. This assigns a number to the emotional connection.

When this numbering system was applied, it was found that first- run cable series actually score higher than network programs. Any program that had an index of 100 was thought to be average.

The survey explains that out of the top five programs for men 18-49, four of them are cable. The USA Network drama “Burn Notice” was first with a 300 Q score followed by “White Collar” with 271, “Sanctuary” with 222, and “Psych” with 203. CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” was the only network show to break into the top five with a Q score of 194.

Similarly, women 18-49 have a higher emotional connection to cable. Again, four out of five of the top scoring shows are from cable. The top five are Oxygen’s “The Bad Girls Club” with 321, “Burn Notice” with 280, ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” with 232, “Snapped” with 230, and “Sherri” with 222.

In light of the new study, cable advertising should be considered when trying to vie for a viewers’ attention. A high emotional connection to a TV show can lead to a steady audience for your campaign. However, it is important to keep in mind that while this study shows select cable shows have a higher emotional engagement with viewers, it does not mean that the viewership is higher.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

Mobile access to social networking websites grow exponentially from last year

Constantly being aware of how consumers behave can help advertisers in properly finding the target audience for a product or service.

As social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook become more common, the rate at which both are being accessed through mobile browsers is growing exponentially. According to the Center for Media Research, comScore looked to document that growth.

Taking into account all cell phone users, Facebook received a 112% jump from January 2009 in the number of users utilizing a mobile device to enter the website. Twitter saw the biggest change with a 347% increase from last January. Coincidentally, MySpace saw a decrease of 7% from last year.

ComScore states in the findings that in January 2010, 30.8% of smartphone users got on to a social networking site with his/her phone. This is a large increase compared to the 22.5% reported a year ago. Smartphones have been said to be the main driving force for growth.

These findings do not include the mobile users who only use mobile applications to connect to these sites. That is an estimated 6 million people.

Constantly being aware of how consumers behave can help advertisers in properly finding the target audience for a product or service. In this case, mobile advertising may be vital in targeting a key demographic if that is how that group primarily utilizes media.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

New study shows that DVRs are more popular in the 25-54 age bracket

Understanding how your target audience consumes media can help tailor your campaign to be more effective in reaching those core people.

As digital video recorders (DVRs) become more easily accessible to consumers, experts want to know who primarily is utilizing the device.
According to MediaPost, The Nielsen Company completed a Three Screen Report to survey Americans’ media usage. The study found that on average, the nation watches only about two hours of time-shifted TV per week. In contrast, traditional TV manages about 35 hours per week.

As a whole, 35% of all US households own a DVR. The device is most commonly used by people in the 25-54 age group. They typically watch three hours a week. People who are 65 years old and older spend the least amount of time watching time-shifted TV. This group will watch a little over an hour per week.

Understanding how your target audience consumes media can help tailor your campaign to be more effective in reaching those core people.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...

Americans make room for TV and the Internet by overlapping usage

As a whole, advertising messages are on multiple screens that are all vying for Americans’ attention.

As more Americans are embracing the various ways to access media, research companies are tracking the rate at which this is actually happening.

According to MediaPost, The Nielsen Company completed a Three Screen Report which documented people’s media consumption. Results showed that Americans increased their multitasking habits during the last quarter of 2009. In fact, there was a 35% rise, from the previous year, in viewers who accessed the Internet while watching TV.

An interesting finding is that the increase occurred within the last half of 2009. To show comparison, in December 2008, persons who engaged in TV and used the Internet simultaneously at least once per month at home spent approximately two hours and 36 minutes doing so. In June 2009, that amount only increased to two hours and 39 minutes. After the spike took place, the time spent went up to three hours and 30 minutes in December 2009.

As a whole, advertising messages are on multiple screens that are all vying for Americans’ attention. As Americans’ learn to multitask in the congested media environment, it is vital for your campaign to stand out amongst the group. Being on TV and online at the same time can help keep your message present in front of your audience. Or, being creative by driving traffic to your website through TV advertisements can help keep your viewer engaged.

Be sure to visit Ruth Burke & Associates’ blog to find the latest in media news and receive helpful tips to make your advertising campaign successful...