I recently received a review copy of Contagious' report on Social Networking and User Generated Content, and I'd like to share the reading with you.
SN and UCG are definitely among the most debated topics of the moment, both online and offline. As usual, when there's a lot of buzz about something, you can hear/read a lot of good insights and relevant opinions but also a lot of bullshit (pardon my French...). When I received the report I read it with great interest and curiosity, because I love consumer studies (I like the idea of feeling predator and prey at the same time) and because I feel there is (and I have) still so much to learn about the fascinating Internet world. Contagious is a great magazine, therefore my expectations on the report were high. And I must say that I haven't been disappointed.
What I liked most it's the editorial approach they've taken, building a report that mixes sites overviews, consumer studies, case studies as well as opinions and insights from people who work and manage the SN industry. In my opinion, very often when you read industry or trends reports you're flooded with stats and numbers, you look at them and then you ask yourself "and now what?". With Contagious' report this is not the case.
It's quite some time I don't write about research and numbers (maybe because before I didn't care much !!??!!) but now in my new position, I have to keep my eyes open on this aspect of the business as well Thanks to the guys @ Marketingfacts (and to the brilliant powe of slideshare!), we can access a few interesting data on online advertising in Europe presented last week in Brussels by the IAB.
As you can see, UK leads the way, followed by Germany and France. Actually the info I find more interesting, is that the average expenditure per active user is 39.1€.
BrandRepublic presents the results of the 13th NetObserver Europe report which found out French internet users are the most susceptible to online advertising and marketing.
For example, in the last 6 months, over 50 percent of French Internet users had taken part in an online competition organised by a brand or an e-commerce site. In the UK the number goes down to 35 percent. Less mature markets such as Spain and Italy (sigh!) have, on the contrary a better perception of online advertising. Germans are the most difficult to please with online marketing, but when it comes to e-commerce or buying online services, they appear to be the most active.
Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the full report, so if anyone has a copy (which I believe is free), I will be eager to see it. Thanks!
eMarketer features today an interesting chart based on Forrester's research on marketing channels used by US marketers. Once again it's a pity the results only reveal what's going on in the US, but still, it's good to know where the game is currently being played in the largest advertising market of the world.
Research company PQ Media has released last month the "Blog, Podcast and RSS Advertising Outlook". According to the study, "combined spending on blog, podcast and RSS advertising bolted 198.4% to $20.4 million in 2005, and is expected to grow another 144.9% to $49.8 million in 2006".
In future perspective PQ Media believes that podcast advertising will be a larger market than blog advertising by 2010, when blogs will comprise only 39.7%, or $300.4 million, of overall expenditures in such "alternative" online channels.
Last week eMarketer has published the results of a research by Sharpe Partners which investigated the potentials of viral marketing. The results are interesting, since they confirm the power of viral marketing: 89 percent of US users are likely to share content with friends and colleagues, and only 5 percent refuse to share content that contains a clear brand message.
According to a new research by the European Interactive Advertising Bureau, the average European internet user spends 10 hours and 15 minutes online a week; a 17 per cent rise on 2004 and a 56 per cent rise on 2003. As reported on Revolution, With the exception of early mornings (6am to 10am), the internet is the second most-used medium throughout the rest of the day. The research also found blogging is becoming more popular, with 13 per cent of European users regularly contributing to online blogging sites.
The New York Times reports a recent survey found out the relationships between agencies and clients are going pretty bad, preventing the parties to work more productively. As Nancy L. Salz, a consultant based in New York explains, there are huge opportunities to work better together but there is also a huge gap between the two sides. For example, when asked to assess the level of teamwork that exists in their relationships, 59 percent of the advertiser respondents said there was more teamwork but only 25 percent of the agency respondents agreed.
Online advertising expenditures in the US have hit a new record in Q3, reaching a total value of $3 billions. As reported on Media Guardian, the figures, compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers, show that US online ad spending has almost doubled in the last two years from just $1.75bn in the third quarter of 2003, as advertisers move more of their budgets online.
According to a research recently released in Spain, 61 percent of surfers actually look at online ads. Alt64 Digital carried out a study to understand what users look at while reading online newspapers such as ABC, El Periodico, El Mundo and La Vanguardia. Among the findings, the study points out less is better when it comes to the quantity of ads to be displayed on a page. Skyscrapers on the side of the page and leaderboards usually get most of the users' attention.
The study has been carried out on account of Eyetracking Media España and can be downloaded for free here (opens .pdf, in Spanish).
A good news for online marketers, a bad news for healthy living: according to a new report by Forrester Research, about a third of all Europeans see surfing the Internet as one of their favorite leisure-time activities (it's more popular than playing sports, going to the gym, or shopping). Surfing the Internet is the third most popular hobby among online Europeans. Online consumers who see Internet surfing as a hobby are more focused on entertainment. They are also far more likely to use the Internet to replace their old-fashioned media sources: radio, TV, or the phone.
A new report by Interpublic agencies Weber Shandwick and FutureBrand ("050 A Fresh Perspective") found out the majority of consumer advertising is focused on 20 to 40 years old people. And if you consider that in the UK, over 50-years-olds currently hold around 80% of disposable income (about £196bn in spending power), you realize how big is the chance you miss.
A new study by Advertising.com found that behavioral targeted ads produce lower response rates than run-of-network placements, but deliver higher conversion rates.
The study examined three advertiser campaigns targeted to Advertising.com's personal finance, automotive and education behavioral populations. For each advertiser, identical creative messages were sent to both a run-of-network audience and the behaviorally segmented audience. In each study, conversion rates increased markedly for targeted impressions vs. run-of-network impressions. However, click-through rates experienced the opposite effect -- with the number of clicks decreasing for targeted impressions. These findings suggest that behavioral targeting actually increases the value of each click, as consumers who click on a targeted ad are more motivated to convert.
