Friday, January 31, 2014

Social Media habits are deemed cool or uncool according to a new study

Consumers’ perceptions of media change fairly quickly. A new study, Truth About Privacy, by McCann Worldgroup may help advertisers stay relevant to audiences.

The Center for Media Research recapped that over the last few years, users of social media have put more of an importance and emphasis on privacy, and habits that used to be termed “cool” have now been outcast.

For the social media users who were surveyed, the following items ranked higher in the “uncool” category:
·        34% of users thought status updates that pertained to everyday activities were cool.
·        35% of users stated that “checking in” a location in Foursquare on a regular basis is cool.
·        63% reported that a personal style blog with daily entries of a chosen outfit is uncool.
·        73% thought it was uncool to add people to LinkedIn that you don’t actually know.
·        Similarly, 72% of users deemed it uncool to add people to Facebook as friends if you don’t actually know them.
·        Important for advertisers to note is that 66% of those surveyed thought that a brand using user content on the brand’s social media site without user consent is uncool.

With all of the elements about social media habits that are “uncool,” there are a few that are considered in the “cool” spectrum:
·        About 63% of people thought defriending people on Facebook that are not “real” friends is cool.
·        64% reported that regularly posting silly or humorous articles on Facebook is cool.


Monday, January 27, 2014

Smartphone gamers play to unwind

For those of you who play games on your smartphone, what would you say is the biggest reason for doing so? If you are like half of the respondents from the study by Smashing Ideas, you play games to relieve stress. eMarketer recently reported on the highlights of the October 2013 study.

The top five reasons why people play smartphone games are:
·        To relieve stress at 50%
·        To fill time while traveling at 35%
·        They like these games better than watching TV at 20%
·        To procrastinate doing work at 17%
·        They like these games better than console games at 16%

The smallest percentage of responders at 3% reported they don’t like their jobs and would rather play games.

Interesting to note is that the majority of those polled do not play smartphone games longer than 60 minutes a day.
·        44% play between 0 – 30 minutes per day
·        20% play between 31 – 45 minutes per day

·        15% play between 46 – 60 minutes per day

Thursday, January 16, 2014

New study shows DVR saturation in marketplace is slowing down

Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) have been in the consumer marketplace for a few years now. As the device penetrated the market, researchers were watchful to track the rate at which it was adopted. New research conducted by Leichtman Research Group shows that the rate of saturation is slowing down.

According to MediaPost, results indicate that approximately 47% of all US TV homes have at least one DVR. By comparison, about 40% of households in 2010 had DVRs, and 23% of households in 2007 did. While there is still growth, the rate of it is not as vast as it once was.


Research shows that about 55% of homes subscribe to a multichannel TV service like cable, satellite or telco. Also, the majority of DVR owners received the device from their TV service. Of those surveyed, four percent did not have a TV service subscription; however, they did have DVRs.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Direct mail may include scannable codes in the near future

As advertisements make strides towards a more digitally inclined focus, there are still traditional vehicles working to stay as a credible source for advertisers. One of those vehicles is the United States Postal Service (USPS) which is a big player with direct mail. In fact, advertising mail was approximately a quarter of its revenue in 2013 at $16.9 billion.

According to MediaPost, the USPS is currently working on options to increase popularity of direct mail. An option to do just that is making the direct mail pieces interactive with consumers; this could translate to a scannable code. These codes could allow the audience access to provide feedback to advertisers, receive coupons, or redeem rewards as a form of motivation.


The thought behind this addition is that it can theoretically help advertisers track the responsive audience quickly, and reduce the “junk mail” to unresponsive households. 

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Highlights of Arbitron's Out-of-Home Advertising Study

Arbitron recently released its findings in the 2013 edition of the Arbitron Out-of-Home Advertising Study. The intended purpose was to study the travel habits of US adults and exposure to outdoor advertising like billboards (standard and digital), bus transit (vehicle and shelter), taxi cabs, kiosks, etc.

Here are a few brief highlights of the study:

·        The average amount of time people spend traveling is 20 hours and 16 minutes per week. This could be either driving or being a passenger in any form of vehicle. The bulk of this time is spent during the work week with an estimated 3 hours and 16 minutes per day. Weekend days are at an average of 1 hour and 59 minutes.
·        Americans travel an estimated 169 miles per week on average. There is a group called Mega-milers who average 363 miles per week. This group is more likely to be male and live in higher-income households.
·        Arbitron reports that close to 9 of 10 American adults, who are 18+ in age, travel in a vehicle on roads or rails during the past month. The mode of transportation could be considered any of the following: cars, trucks, buses, taxis, commuter rails, subways, etc.
·        Nearly three-quarters of travelers have noticed advertising messages on standard, static billboards, digital billboards, buses, transit shelters, taxi cabs, commuter rails, subways, kiosks, newspaper stands, etc.


Advertisers can use this information to help support out-of-home advertising. While there is clutter that advertisers have to cut through, there is a massive audience that notices it. It’s really up to advertisers to come up with an inventive and original message that can stand out and reach the masses.