Mobile Is Driving Key Trends Across Digital Marketing Channels


Mobile device usage has exploded over the last few years, as users gained access to better, easier-to-use smartphones. In turn, digital marketing trends have been heavily influenced by the ubiquity of these devices. Andy Taylor, Associate Director of Research at Merkle, expounding on Merkle’s ‘Q1 Digital Marketing Report’, writing in Mobile Marketing (0714), pointed out the impact of mobile on Google’s paid search and Facebook’s ad spend, as well as the rising importance of local search.

The importance of local search was addressed at the 2016 Performance Summit, where Google announced that local searches were growing 50% faster than mobile searches overall, as users increasingly turn to mobile search to locate local businesses and use navigation apps. As such, Google is making local searches a greater priority in expanding the tops of ads it shows.

In Q1 2017, the share of phone traffic for brand text ads coming from the ‘Get location details’ click type rose 5% with the vast majority of these clicks coming from ads in the Google Maps search results. While Google has long tested Google Maps ads, it began steadily expanding that traffic in mid-2016.

To ensure visibility with these ad units, marketers with brick-and-mortar locations must verify local business listings in Google My Business as well launch location extensions for all paid search campaigns.

Google is also enhancing the presence of ads for local businesses on its primary search results with Local Inventory Ads, a variation of Google Shopping ads which includes information on when a product can be picked up in store. Launched in 2013, these ads have steadily grown in importance as phone usage increased, and in […]

By |July 20th, 2017|Media Notes Canonical|Comments Off on Mobile Is Driving Key Trends Across Digital Marketing Channels
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The Customer Experience Is Not Up To Par


While many business executives believe their companies are customer-centric, more than 8 in 10 people surveyed across 8 countries say they’d be willing to spend more for a better experience, according to Capgemini research. But the study reveals a distinct disconnect between executive and customer perceptions of companies’ customer-centricity.

In surveying executives at 125 companies and 3,372 of their customers, the study found that while 70% of the executives feel their companies are customer-centric, just 30% of their customers agree.

While customers claim that they’ll reward a better experience with more spending, some are also quick to abandon companies for not providing it. In fact, roughly 1 in 5 customers reported having purchasing from a company due to a poor experience.

Internet-Based Services seem to be setting the industry standard for better experiences. The disconnect in customer-centric perception was narrowest in this sector, with 68% of companies believing they are customer-centric and 56% of their customers agreeing.

Moreover, 59% of Internet-Based Services customers believe those companies provide a better customer experience than the competition, compared to 47% of customers overall.

One way to enhance the customer experience is to make it simpler: a Siegel+Gale study released earlier this year found almost two-thirds (64%) of people around the world willing to pay more for simpler experiences.

Companies could also be more responsive to other customer wishes:
• Only 4 in 10 customers believe companies listen to their feedback and act on it; and
• A similar 42% believe that companies reward them for their loyalty.

Truth or perception…that is the question. Is your company really customer-centric?

About the Data: Capgemini surveyed 450 executives from 150 companies […]

By |July 12th, 2017|Media Notes Canonical|Comments Off on The Customer Experience Is Not Up To Par
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TV Viewership Continues To Decline. How Soon Will Brands View It As A Supporting Player?


Traditional TV viewership declined more than 10% in the United States, according to a new research report from Accenture. The report, Digital Video and the Connected Consumer, developed for communications, media and technology companies, found that video consumption, anytime, anywhere, has become mainstream, accelerating the decline of traditional TV viewing. But that is not the only reason television viewing is down. The ability for Streaming On Demand has rushed the flow out of tradition viewing habits.

Viewership for long form video content, such as movies and television on a TV screen has declined by 13% globally over the past year, and by 11% in the United States. On Wednesday, June 21, broadcast networks (English Language) in the U.S. were down 12.36%.(http://bit.ly/NBCBBCOne9AUWinWednesday062217)

Similarly, the report found sports viewership on TV screens declined by 10% globally and nine (9%) percent in the United States. Television was the only product category to see uniform, double-digit usage declines across different types of media worldwide among viewers of nearly all ages. It is rapidly being replaced as consumers turn to a combination of laptops, desktops, tablets and smartphones to view video content.

Nearly all age brackets reported double-digit declines in TV viewing globally, with 14 to 17-year-olds abandoning the TV screen at the rate of 33% for movies and television shows and 26% for sporting events. This decline continues for 18 to 34-year-olds at 14% for movies and television shows and 12% for sporting events, and for 35 to 54-year-olds, at 11 and nine percent, respectively. It does, however, flatten among the 55+ crowd, at six (6%) percent and one (1%) percent respectively.

”We are seeing a definitive pendulum shift away from […]

By |June 22nd, 2017|Media Notes Canonical|Comments Off on TV Viewership Continues To Decline. How Soon Will Brands View It As A Supporting Player?
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UK Consumers Increasingly Comfortable Buying by Smartphone


Nearly 60% Of Digital Buyers Will Purchase Via Advanced Handset This Year

Using smartphones to buy goods and services is becoming commonplace in the UK. According to eMarketer’s latest UK ecommerce forecast, 58.6% of the country’s digital buyers ages 14 and older—25.2 million people—will make retail ecommerce purchases (excluding travel and event tickets) via smartphone this year.

In 2017, UK retail ecommerce sales made via smartphones will be worth £16.42 billion ($22.16 billion), eMarketer predicts. As a result, smartphones will be the conduit for 46.5% of the UK’s total retail mcommerce sales, which also include purchases made using tablets.

This year’s smartphone commerce tally will be up 45.7% from a strong 2016, when sales grew by 66.0%, an expansion more than triple the 18.0% growth seen for UK retail ecommerce overall last year. 2017’s gain will continue that trend, outpacing an anticipated 14.5% increase in overall retail ecommerce sales. “UK consumers are becoming ever-more comfortable using their mobile devices, and particularly smartphones, for retail purchases,” said eMarketer senior analyst Bill Fisher. “The slowly rising use of mobile payment options is adding a bit more fuel to the fire. The more comfortable people become using their smartphones for payment in a retail environment, the more likely they are to use them for retail shopping and buying more generally.”

In total, the UK retail ecommerce market is set to exceed £81.55 billion ($110.07 billion) in 2017, of which £35.31 billion ($47.66 billion) will come from mobile commerce. eMarketer expects this year’s 28.4% jump in retail mcommerce to be followed by additional, albeit lessening, double-digit gains over the next four years. By 2021, […]

By |June 20th, 2017|Media Notes Canonical|Comments Off on UK Consumers Increasingly Comfortable Buying by Smartphone
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63% Of Smartphone Users Operate Their Devices Once Every 30 Minutes.


And if you think that is a lot, 22% of users now check out their phones every five minutes.

Worldwide, it doesn’t matter. We are addicted to our mobile devices. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), 63% of smartphone users operate their devices at least once every 30 minutes. And as indicated, 22% of users now check out their phones every five minutes according to the IAB.

These findings confirm, according to Gavin O’Malley writing in Digital News Daily (061417), that mobile use has become a ‘worldwide phenomenon’ according to Anna Bager, SVP/GM mobile and video at IAB.

A whopping 90% of smartphone users recall seeing ads within the first few days of it being shown on the mobile Web, while 86% recall seeing ads within the first few days of them being shown on a mobile app.

On the mobile Web, nearly half of users reported taking some sort of related action after seeing mobile ads. The top consumer responses reported after seeing an ad on the mobile Web include remembering the brand advertised, interacting with the ad, and visiting the website of the advertised brand.

The IAB’s findings are from 18 countries, including the United States earlier this year.

Driving mobile engagement worldwide, the IAB cites improvements in ad load speed and creative quality on mobile web over the past year Also of note, the IAB finds that consumers are increasingly using the mobile Web for different pursuits.

In general, people tend to rely on the mobile Web for functionality and utility (including search), while they prefer apps for entertainment and social activities.

By |June 14th, 2017|Media Notes Canonical|Comments Off on 63% Of Smartphone Users Operate Their Devices Once Every 30 Minutes.
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64% Of Consumers Say Watching A Marketing Video On Facebook Influenced Purchase Decision In The Last Month


Every day, hundreds of millions of people watch video on Facebook and new findings suggest a majority make time for branded fare. In an article written by Gavin O’Malley in Digital News Daily (060617), 60% of Facebook users say they view at least one branded video a day, according to Animoto. More notable, 64% of consumers say watching a marketing video on Facebook has influenced a purchase decision in the last month. In response to this receptivity, brands are diving into social video. Among those marketers surveyed by Animoto, nearly half say they are presently publishing four or more videos per month.

Plus, 92% of marketers say they are repurposing assets they already have for video creation. ‘Businesses need to learn to ‘speak video’ fluently if they want to connect with their customers on social media’, Brad Jefferson, CEO of Animoto, notes in the new report.

In February, Facebook reported 1.74 billion mobile monthly active users. According to Animoto’s research, 84% of consumers say they watch social video content on mobile devices, while 81% of marketers say they optimize their social videos for mobile, which includes things like planning for sound-off viewing.

Some 1,000 consumers and 500 marketers already in the business of putting out social video were surveyed for the report. While the marketplace continues to evolve, YouTube and Facebook still dominate in terms of video viewership numbers.

For daily updates on social media, go to:https://overtheshouldermedia.wordpress.com.

By |June 7th, 2017|Media Notes Canonical|Comments Off on 64% Of Consumers Say Watching A Marketing Video On Facebook Influenced Purchase Decision In The Last Month
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How Shoppers Think About Brick & Mortar


As retailers try to figure out how to optimize their brick-and-mortar assets,
a new study adds further evidence of shoppers’ conflicting emotions
about the entire experience of in-store shopping.

The study, by payments platform Adyen, identified three key criticisms
consumers make about in-store shopping:
◉ First, they don’t like lines. More than three-quarters said they leave
stores because of long lines.
◉ Second, they like to be left alone. About half (49%) said they don’t
want to be helped by a salesperson.
◉ Third, they don’t like the pressure. The same percentage, 49%, said
they are not always in buying mode, and they don’t feel the need to walk
out of the store with a purchase in hand.

The study was based on a February 2017 online survey of more than 2,000
US consumers.

The survey results closely align with a slew of recent data signaling
American shoppers’ evolving preferences, including an increasingly
distinct desire to be left to their own devices (literally) while in stores.

An International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) survey released in March showed that more than three-fifths of consumers expect that by
2020 they will actually prefer to be left alone to do their own thing while in
stores instead of engaging with a sales person.

And in April a survey from Salsify, which provides content management
services for digital commerce, found that 77% of shoppers use a mobile
device while shopping in-store, whereas just 35% opt to speak to a
salesperson if they have a question.

But the ICSC data also pointed up the value of the physical location,
noting that nearly three-quarters of shoppers said they’ve made a
purchase using their mobile device and picked up the product in store.
And more than half said they want to compile a shopping list on a store
app […]

By |May 9th, 2017|Media Notes Canonical|Comments Off on How Shoppers Think About Brick & Mortar
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US Adults Now Spend 12 Hours 7 Minutes a Day Consuming Media

US adults will spend more than half the day with major media

According to eMarketer, thanks to multitasking, US adults’ average daily time spent with major media will slightly exceed 12 hours this year, according to eMarketer’s latest report, “US Time Spent with Media:eMarketer’s Updated Estimates and Forecast for 2014-2019”. But while their reports early in the decade told a story of robust gains—with increases in digital usage more than compensating for declines in time spent with nondigital media—growth has been petering out.

People are often using multiple media at the same time. That is how the figure for time spent can add up to 12 hours a day. And note our method of accounting for simultaneous usage: If someone spends an hour watching TV (for example) and uses a smartphone to surf the web during the same hour, this is counted as an hour of usage for each medium, and hence as 2 hours of total media time. One might have thought average time spent with smartphones by users would decline as the smartphone population broadened far beyond early adopters and technophiles. Instead, average time spent among users has steadily increased.

eMarketer estimates that nonvoice time spent per day by smartphone users will have risen from 2 hours 18 minutes in 2014 to 2 hours 42 minutes by 2019.

The proliferation of apps is clearly a factor in this increase. More and more of the digital universe is designed to cater to smartphones, and this often takes the form of apps. For users of smartphones—and, to a slightly lesser extent, users of tablets—time spent using those devices mostly means […]

By |May 1st, 2017|Media Notes Canonical|Comments Off on US Adults Now Spend 12 Hours 7 Minutes a Day Consuming Media
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No One Note Samba


In the world of music, there is no such thing as a song with just one note.

In the world of integrated marketing, there is no such thing as just one ad placement or just one post that will generate significant traffic or sales. Integrated Marketing is the application of consistent brand messaging across both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels and using different promotional methods to reinforce each other.

In music, it take a series of notes, precisely placed and measured, to make a song that is compelling to the ear to which people will respond.

In today’s world of retail branding, it takes more than seeing one ad to prompt a consumer to buy that new sofa, switch brands, walk into a store or press the button for the shop online. As Matan Bik of Nielsen stated (041217), ‘It takes a combination of relevant, timely and engaging content that truly drives consumers through the total purchase process.

The Score

In the world of integrated marketing, like advertising before, it takes the correct data to understand what motivates consumers and then act on those insights. The content has to have specific tailored marketing messages based on specific personal preferences. Then it takes a deft hand in sequencing ads or posts at the appropriate time across various devices to improve consumer engagement and ultimately drive sales, whether it is through physical traffic into the store or sales via one’s website.

Mr Bik states that data insight is meaningless unless it can be acted upon. And this is one of the paralyzing factors in making integrated marketing work. Brand management tends to wash themselves in data about desktops, smartphones, tablets and other connected […]

By |April 21st, 2017|Media Notes Canonical|Comments Off on No One Note Samba
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Small-Business Websites Are Expected To Be Top-Notch Just As Large Business Websites


Why is this important? If disappointed, consumers less likely to purchase and that means having a mobile-optimized site.

Consumers know what they want, and when it comes to visiting a small business’ website, they expect the same experience they would get from a larger chain. Rimma Kats, writing in eMarketer (041217) stated, ‘If website visitors don’t get that experience, whether because the site doesn’t provide simple information like an address or business hours, or because it has a poor mobile experience, then they are left with a bad impression. March 2017 research from Vistaprint Digital found that roughly half of US internet users surveyed said they would most likely be left with a bad impression if a small-business website had outdated contact information. And almost as many respondents said they would have a bad impression of a site that provided no address, directions or business hours.

A poor mobile user interface, difficult fonts and an unprofessional design were other factors cited by respondents. Surprisingly, some small-business websites are still not mobile.

A separate survey from Yodle conducted by Research Now, found that four in 10 US small businesses don’t have a mobile-optimized site. Ultimately, a bad impression, like that from a poor mobile site, can affect whether or not consumers make a purchase. In fact, nearly 60% of respondents surveyed by Vistaprint said they would be less likely to purchase something from a small business based on a bad impression of its website.’

Yet when surveying company heads, they nearly all believe their websites are mobile-optimized. Why? They are being told by their internal personnel that their websites are mobile-optimized when in fact, they are not. It […]

By |April 13th, 2017|Media Notes Canonical|Comments Off on Small-Business Websites Are Expected To Be Top-Notch Just As Large Business Websites
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