Ugh ...

Teens would seemingly be the prime target for mobile advertising, be it via text messages or the mobile Web, but research from comScore reveals that while U.S. kids ages 12-17 are cell phone-savvy, they are not particularly receptive to mobile ads. In fact, the relative simplicity of their phones and the fact that nearly 70% of teens need their parents to pay the bill (and thus, green-light extras like data plans) makes them poor campaign targets.

MediaPost Publications - Mobile Teens: Savvy, Chatty And Don't Like Ads - 08/29/2008

Articles like this one make me unhappy. I want and want and want to sell mobile campaigns to my agency clients because I genuinely believe the platform can make an impact. But the metrics make it tough. How much to spend? What's going to be the ROI? How to test the most effective messaging? Interestingly, if teens aren't exactly the best target, maybe Mom is.

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TV's Future Looks Like Web's Present

TV advertising is poised to change dramatically over the next decade, embracing the kind of targeting and user control already common on the Web, according to a new report by Forrester Research.
 
Forrester lays out a decade-long evolution that will ultimately result in most programming delivered on-demand with targeted ad messages based on location and behavior, along with community functions.
 
This "Personal TV," as Forrester calls it, would also deliver a Web-like experience for consumers, with a portal-like menu of programming options and search functions.

TV's Future Looks Like Web's Present

More evidence for one of my favorite media conspiracy theories -- "mass" media out of home while "personal" media moves indoors.

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TV's Future Looks Like Web's Present

TV advertising is poised to change dramatically over the next decade, embracing the kind of targeting and user control already common on the Web, according to a new report by Forrester Research.
 
Forrester lays out a decade-long evolution that will ultimately result in most programming delivered on-demand with targeted ad messages based on location and behavior, along with community functions.
 
This "Personal TV," as Forrester calls it, would also deliver a Web-like experience for consumers, with a portal-like menu of programming options and search functions.

TV's Future Looks Like Web's Present

More evidence for one of my favorite media conspiracy theories -- "mass" media out of home while "personal" media

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Mall Advertising Goes Digital

It’s not unusual to hear those in the business compare the growth of out-of-home digital with the growth of the Internet. “We’re starting to get past the point where the Internet was circa 1995, where we had a new set of technologies introduced to the marketplace,” says Mike Ribero, CEO of Reactrix Systems, a six-year-old interactive OOH media company. “We have technology now that engages a consumer in a way that allows that last impression, that last line of offense, to be as persuasive, if not even more so, than other kinds of media.”

Mall Advertising Goes Digital

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I believe all mass media will migrate OOH while all personal media will migrate indoors. Eventually the only way to reach a large audience with a single "broadcast" will be to roll video at a large stadium or massive public event. Otherwise the rest of our screens will be completely under our "on demand" control. This ought to be common sense by now.

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Drilling Down - Preferring the Web Over Watching TV - NYTimes.com

For children ages 10 to 14 who use the Internet, the computer is a bigger draw than the TV set, according to a study recently released by DoubleClick Performics, a search marketing company. The study found that 83 percent of Internet users in that age bracket spent an hour or more online a day, but only 68 percent devoted that much time to television.

The study found that the children often did research online before making a purchase (or bugging their parents to make one). The big exception to this rule was apparel: like many grown-ups, the children said they preferred to choose their clothes at a store.

Drilling Down - Preferring the Web Over Watching TV - NYTimes.com

Another way of looking at this is -- we've got four years until today's 14 year old becomes most marketers' "coveted" 18 year old demographic target. So let's mark our calendars for the year 2012 with a red dot for the demise of the :30 commercial.

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Fox to stream premieres for dorms

In a first, Fox will stream the premiere of "Fringe" and season opener of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" online at the same time as they bow on TV.

But there's a catch: Only computer users on college campuses will be able to log in to watch the simul-stream.

Move helps Fox expose the trend-setting college audience -- who are more likely to have computers than TVs in their dorm rooms -- to the shows. 

Computers logging into Fox.com from a college-based .edu domain will be given full streaming access to "Terminator" on Sept. 8, the same night it returns on Fox, and the series premiere of "Fringe" Sept. 9, when it launches on the net.

Fox to stream premieres for dorms - Entertainment News, TV News, Media - Variety

This is great. Audience segmentation has been greatly enabled by the roll out of client-server database technology. We can apply segmentation to nearly every form of communication we design. Why not!?!?

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U.S. on Track to Top Mobile Web Market, Study Says

After years of lagging behind European countries, the U.S. is poised to take the top spot for mobile Web usage by month's end, according to data collected by technology firm Bango, which provides mobile Internet access platforms to 100,000 Web sites worldwide.

In July, Bango reported the U.K. was top ranked in mobile Web usage, accounting for almost 19.4 percent of the worldwide total, just ahead of the U.S., which collected about 18.9 percent of total usage. Rounding out the top five were India (10.8 percent), South Africa (8.8 percent) and Indonesia (4.1 percent).

U.S. on Track to Top Mobile Web Market, Study Says

But can we trust Bango's numbers?! Don't get me wrong, I really want to. In fact, I want to sing the mobile gospel in every meeting and brainstorm.

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Olympics set the stage for emerging Web tech fight | Technology | Internet | Reuters

Microsoft's Silverlight technology and rival Adobe's Flash format are currently locked in a race over who delivers the world's online video, but the ultimate prize may be who powers the next generation of Web software.

Using Silverlight, the NBC site offers a glimpse of what is possible with future Web applications because viewers are able to watch up to four videos at once or follow the action with an online commentary that runs alongside the video.

Olympics set the stage for emerging Web tech fight | Technology | Internet | Reuters

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Monetizing Twitter - Experimentation

Twitter / Bandsintown

So far there are a few companies experimenting with using Twitter to drive word-of-mouth (WOM) action and reaction to their offerings. Bands In Town offers (in its Twitter bio) "Win free tickets by following us! Get concert reminders and discover local shows by signing up." Okay. That's a start.

My Official Pet Theme™ Roster, v00b01

1. All marketing will be database marketing (or already is, but we live in denial)
2. Interactive media use is the new generation gap (over/under age 35)
3. The HD Day conspiracy theory (expiration date: Feb 17, 2009)

12 Seconds dot TV is Webcam Microblogging

Announcement: Here’s our API. Please come and play. « the 12seconds.tv blog




I'd like to incorporate this API into a commercial website or microsite. Think I'll do that soon.

Research Brief » Blog Archive » I Want It My Way

Ads delivered via mass media are preferred by 17% of U.S. adults, and an additional 17% of consumers are most interested in ads delivered in print. 32% of U.S. all adults are either disinterested in advertising delivered by any medium or they have not been exposed to a particular ad platform.

The 9% of U.S. adults who prefer "Ads on Emerging Media Vehicles" are far more likely than the average adult to agree with the following statements.

• A celebrity endorsement may influence me to consider or buy a product.
• I'm always one of the first of my friends to try new products or services.
• I follow the latest trends and fashions.
• Brand name is the best indication of quality.

Anne Marie Kelly, Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Planning at MRI, says "Consumers who prefer advertising messages delivered through their mobile devices and product placement tend to be younger, pro-innovation, pro-celebrity and pro-fashion… this segmentation analysis helps them to target… consumers most receptive to their media plan."

Research Brief » Blog Archive » I Want It My Way

So, there's an 8 point gap between the "emerging media" consumers and the "mass media" troglodytes. How long before that gap evaporates? Hmm.

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Here's the Quote of the Year

"Effective marketing spending during economic downturns is not about how much you spend but how you spend it," the trade association says in its release. "Marketers must assess how consumers and customer behavior can be positively influenced during tough times. If it can, then marketers should give increased consideration to more spending rather than cutting."

MediaPost Publications - Study: Marketers' Budgets Likely To Plunge Further - 08/22/2008

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Intel And Yahoo Want To Bring Widgets (And The Internet) To Your TV

Intel and Yahoo have announced plans for a new “Widget Channel”, a widget platform for consumer electronic devices running on Intel’s hardware. The platform will support a number of current technologies, including JavaScript, HTML, XML, and mostly notably Adobe’s ubiquitous Flash, which many current platforms on CE devices don’t support.

The two companies envision a library of small widgets that will be included alongside standard television content. For example, a user could use an eBay widget to monitor the current prices of their active auctions, or a sports widget to keep track of current scores.

Intel And Yahoo Want To Bring Widgets (And The Internet) To Your TV

This looks good. I like the TV-Internet convergence.

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The Viral Campaign of the Moment

This one for Paltalk™ came up twice in the past few days. It's "going viral" as we speak.

A Note About Agency Awards, Especially Cannes Lions

Why is it everybody wants the work that won a Cannes Lion AFTER it won a Cannes Lion? Up 'til then, it's crap.

MediaPost Publications - Video Ad Study Shows High Engagement Rates - 08/18/2008

Completion rates for pre-roll video ads approached 90% and click-through rates averaged 10% in a new study of video ad units by Break Media and video ad technology provider Panache.

MediaPost Publications - Video Ad Study Shows High Engagement Rates - 08/18/2008

This article contains lots of stats about the effectiveness of online video advertising. Great for reference.

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Levi's Invites Consumers To 'Unbutton' Artists - 08/19/2008

Levi's puts the focus on the 501 brand in its latest "Live Unbuttoned" digital campaign. The ads and microsites, featuring up-and-coming artists, offer a glimpse of the real person behind the celebrity, speaking to the hidden creativity in everyone.

EVB San Francisco built the campaign on the idea that everyone has an artistic side--they just need to "unbutton" it. The video and still ads directed by Pier Nicola D'Amico began rolling out last week featuring emerging artists including the British hip-hop singer Estelle, along with Nikka Costa and Wale. The concept, developed with support from music agency Cornerstone, gives consumers a glimpse into the style of several profiled artists.

MediaPost Publications - Levi's Invites Consumers To 'Unbutton' Artists - 08/19/2008

The standard argument I hear all the time is that only certain brands in certain verticals can produce this kind of work. The recently launched Converse Chuck Taylor campaign is strikingly similar to this one -- feature a bunch of up-and-coming artists (many of whom are known entities) and feature them via print and microsites. Got it. It's great for fashion, but how does Scrubbing Bubbles do one of these? Should some brands just step aside and continue to use more traditional advertising?

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How Viral Videos "Go Viral"

Commercial viral videos are helped along by a variety of techniques.
Most above board, but some can be fairly snarky. The most common is simply a digital version of "repping" the content
to social media gatekeepers in order to attain “featured” placements.
It’s not PR, though it comes close.

I like to compare it to being a
rock band manager. It’s the Ruben Kincaid Effect. Your “viral” video is
The Partridge Family. They need to play a bunch of gigs in far off
towns to gain a toehold with a disinterested audience via a limited
number of venues. So, Ruben calls the booking agent. He needs to give
away a free sample in the form of a demo tape. And if the agent finds
the Partridge’s content to be compatible with his “editorial vision”
for his audience, then he puts the band on the bill. By virtue of being
given such high-profile placement, the Partridge Family “goes viral.”
(Yes, I made that up myself.)

Marketers Love Conversation, Unless the Consumer Starts It - Advertising Age - Digital: Columns

I dare you to find a feedback form that winks even a quasi-friendly smile. And if you find one that allows consumers to truly communicate in their native voices -- complete with links, photos, audio clips or videos -- I'll eat my just-published book.

Marketers Love Conversation, Unless the Consumer Starts It - Advertising Age - Digital: Columns

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