Mobile Content's Worldwide Audience

From eMarketer.com

MARCH 31, 2006

Rumors of the collapse of the music and television industries are greatly exaggerated.

There will undoubtedly be change in these industries as well as some disruption. However, more distribution channels will ultimately mean more listeners, viewers, buyers and subscribers. This adds up to more opportunities for advertisers and marketers.

New support for a robust outlook came in recent study by ABI Research, called "Mobile Music Services." ABI looked at sales around the world, of full-track music downloads to mobile devices. The results revealed a market that was twenty times larger at the end of 2005 than at the end of 2004.

ABI found that global revenue from over-the-air (OTA), downloaded full-track songs last year were $251 million, up from $12.4 million in 2004. The firm forecasts that by 2011 the figure will be a staggering $9.3 billion.

The global market is not, however, homogenous. There are different adoption patterns in different parts of the world and marketers should be aware of them.

"Over-the-air downloads will be relatively less successful in North America because of the high penetration of PCs. Overseas (particularly in Asia), PCs are less prevalent and the mobile phone is more so," said Ken Hyers, principal analyst at ABI. "There wasn't even a Japanese iTunes store until Q4 of 2005."

Looking at the video side of the mobile content business in the US, JupiterResearch recently found evidence that 29% of US mobile phone users are interested in some form of video service on their mobile phone.

While adoption of mobile video on phones in the US has been slow compared with some other markets, JupiterResearch found that, among their respondents, 17% of mobile subscribers were interested in watching "live" TV on their cell phones while 11% indicated interest in short video clips.

"This consumer interest bodes well for the mobile industry as vendors use different business models to try and tap into this consumer demand," said Julie Ask, research director at Jupiter. "The challenge is not interest but rather finding the correct mix of premium content and price points that is lacking in today's offerings."

Anticipating a better mix, a new report from JupiterResearch, entitled "U.S. Wireless Forecast, 2005 to 2010," predicts that growing demand for mobile video content will generate $501 million in revenue by 2010, up from $62 million in 2005.

For more on this rapidly emerging subject, grab a copy of the recently released eMarketer report, Mobile TV for Marketers: Monetizing the Small Screen.

AUDIENCE FOR ONLINE VIDEO GROWING RAPIDLY

AUDIENCE FOR ONLINE VIDEO GROWING RAPIDLY
66% of Those Web Viewers Also Watch the Ads

March 30, 2006

By Kris Oser

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Although the number of consumers watching video online routinely is low, that number is growing, and those consumers are engaged with video advertising, according to a new study by the Online Publishers Association and Frank N. Magid Associates.

According to the study, 5% are viewing video daily, 24% view it once a week and 46% are watching once a month. Video news clips are the biggest draw. Some 27% of viewers watch news clips at least once a week, followed closely by 26% who watch funny videos at least once a week.
“You will see the volume of use rise as more content is made available,” said Pam Horan, VP-marketing and membership at OPA.

High advertiser demand Even though advertiser demand is high for a medium that reflects the emotional appeal of TV ads, many consumers are still not aware of video online.

Media buyers note that until consumers are viewing video as often as they do other content, planners cannot be certain how much of their marketing budgets to set aside for video. The video arena is so volatile that estimates of video ad spending ranges dramatically from study to study, with one projecting spending of $657 million in 2009, and another study projecting $2.5 billion in 2010.

It's a rich environment for advertisers, the study found, with online video advertising being viewed regularly and leading to specific actions. Of the U.S. online population, 66% percent have seen an online video ad, and 29% have acted on what they’ve seen. Visiting a Web site is the action that ranks highest at 31%, while 8% are actually driven to make a purchase. Video ad watchers generally prefer short ads, but 39% said they watch ads lasting longer than 30 seconds.

Home viewing vs. work At home, 39% watch online video at least once a week, compared with 19% who watch at least once a week at work.

Because there is yet no reliable or well-known video search engine, half of consumers go to a specific Web site to find clips, with a majority (58%) relying on two to five sites. Another popular way to find video is the way everyone found anything online in the Internet’s early days -- surfing the Web -- according to almost 48% of video viewers.

The research was conducted in February. Researchers interviewed 1,241 Internet users representative of the U.S. population, aged 12 to 64.

Source: www.AdAge.com

Internet Adoption Slowing – But Dependence On It Continues To Grow

Though Global Online Population Growth Slowed In 2005, Access To And Application Of The Internet Continues To Evolve Rapidly According To Ipsos Insight’s Latest The Face of the Web Study

New York, NY – Global Internet adoption is showing signs of slowing, with many of the world’s leading Internet economies displaying modest year-over-year growth, according to Ipsos Insight’s annual The Face of the Web study. During 2005, the global online population grew a modest 5% year-over-year, well short of the 20% growth rate observed in 2004. In addition, the number of individuals expecting to access the Internet in the next 12 months was about the same in 2005 as 2004, indicating prospects for growth in 2006 may be just as temperate.

The latest findings from The Face of the Web—based on interviews in 12 key global markets with more than 6,500 adults, including 3,462 active Internet users—reflect adoption possibilities of the Internet that few other technologies have shown in the past. Ipsos Insight, the global survey-based marketing research firm, has been tracking global Internet developments since 1999.

Driving overall global Internet user growth in 2005 was Japan, which now accounts for roughly 75 million users. Japan also remains the world’s No.1 Internet-based economy, as nearly nine in 10 (89%) claim to have used the Internet in the past 30 days, while users averaged nearly 14 hours per week online. France witnessed the most significant year-over-year gains in Internet adoption among the 12 global markets tracked in the study: today, just over 60% of adults age 18 or older in France use the Internet regularly, representing more than a 12-point increase from 2004 (48%).

However growth in adoption may be plateauing in North America, specifically in the U.S. and Canada, where prevalence of regular Internet usage in 2005 (71% and 72% respectively) was essentially flat compared to 2004. Still, both of these markets remain important players in the evolving global Internet economy, says Brian Cruikshank, Senior Vice President & Managing Director of the company's Technology & Communications practice: “Despite marginal increases in Internet user growth within North America, this region is leading the charge in Wireless Internet use on a PC as well as awareness and usage of Wi-Fi Internet connectivity. These are key indicators that North Americans are turning the corner in mass and becoming more technically sophisticated Internet users. We think the results in 2005 really prove that measuring growth of the Internet in the coming years will be less about user volume, and more about consumers’ reliance on this medium as a way of life—whether it is checking RSS feeds, blogging or picking up a podcast or yesterday’s sitcom, consumers continue to expand and apply new depth of Internet use that we haven’t seen before.”

A number of key trends emerged in 2005 in a variety of global marketplaces, Cruikshank noted:

• In North America, the rising level of notebook PC ownership is fueling significant growth in wireless Internet access. The U.S. and Canada lead the world in Wireless Internet Access via PC: At least one-third of North Americans (U.S. & Canada) have accessed the Internet wirelessly in the past 30 days – significantly higher than rates seen in 2004. The U.S. and Canada also have some of the highest rates of Wi-Fi awareness and usage, as roughly two in five that have that have heard of Wi-Fi technology have actually used it to access the Internet.
• In Europe, France and Germany appear poised to drive global Internet growth in 2006, as does urban Russia, where Internet usage remains a nascent activity, but is on the rise. In addition, future growth in wireless Internet access via handset/cell phone looks promising in Europe as well, particularly in France and the U.K., while usage and/or access to VoIP telephony (Voice over Internet Protocol) is also rising steadily in France, Germany and the U.K., indicating these nations may be emerging as the early adopter markets for this Internet technology.
• In East Asia, the urban China market is quickly evolving into one of the most dynamic Internet-based economies in the world, as it boasts not only the heaviest Internet usage of any of the countries measured (17.9 hrs/week online), but also may have room to grow; only 50% of individuals have accessed the Internet in the past 30 days here, far behind usage in other major East Asian markets such as Japan (89%) and South Korea (68%), providing a glimpse of urban China’s potential. Another important factor to watch: whether the PC will continue to be the dominant platform for accessing the Internet, as over 90% of all households in the major East Asian markets own at least one cell phone.

As for the remainder of 2006, Cruikshank sees many of these peripheral behaviors beginning to form a common theme. “The trends we’re seeing in Wireless PC usage, ownership of peripheral devices such as MP3 players and mobile phones, and the presumed rising levels of awareness of and comfort using the Internet globally, really set the stage for a tipping point in the near future for this medium. We anticipate continued growth in consumer adoption of the ‘digital lifestyle’ globally – particularly as consumers become to expect access to the Internet in an anytime/anywhere paradigm for communication, gathering and sharing information, and accessing digital content and entertainment.”

Methodology
The Face of the Web 2005 study was conducted in November and December 2005 among a random sample of 6,544 adults in urban Brazil, Canada, urban China, France, Germany, urban India, Japan, urban Mexico, urban Russia, South Korea, the U.K., and the U.S.

The Face of the Web 2005 study examined:

• Global Internet Usage – Internet usage and trial through wired and wireless access, frequency of usage, and a 'Diffusion Spectrum' to help project future trends.
• Internet Access & Connectivity – Household PC ownership (laptop and desktop), primary and secondary usage from various locations, primary and secondary access technology (dial-up versus DSL versus cable versus Wi-Fi).
• Wired Internet Activities – A range of conventional and emerging online activities, such as streaming videos, downloading movies, sharing music files, making online phone calls, banking online, etc.
• Wireless Internet Activities – Prevalence of household cell phone ownership and primary usage, wireless Internet usage and activities, (e.g., email, SMS, digital images, video games, ring tones, etc.).
• Household Technology Inventory – Consumer technology and service penetration at the household level (e.g., MP3 players, digital cameras, PDAs, game consoles, GPS navigation, etc.).
• Internet Growth – Growth projections using trend data, usage intent, and Ipsos' proprietary algorithm to derive estimates for future projections in wireless and wired Internet growth.

To learn more about The Face of the Web 2005, please visit: www.ipsosinsight.com/industryfocus/techandcomm/FOW.aspx

For more information, please contact:Adam WrightSenior Research ManagerIpsos Insightadam.wright@ipsos-na.com612.573.8536

About Ipsos Insight
Ipsos Insight is a marketing research consultancy that provides solutions to Fortune 500 companies in the areas of market assessment, brand management, innovation, and new product development. Our industry experts combine the discipline of marketing with the science of marketing research to offer expert consultation and strategic advice that builds powerful brands.

Our client service teams specialize in consumer products, technology, communications, health, pharmaceuticals, financial services, entertainment, retail, foodservice, agrifood, energy, utilities, and lottery and gaming. To learn more, please visit www.ipsosinsight.com.

About Ipsos
Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media. They measure public opinion around the globe. Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999. In 2005, Ipsos generated global revenues of €717.8 million ($853.8 million U.S.).

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos’ offerings and capabilities.

The New MTV

The New MTV
MARCH 23, 2006

Some call it the third screen. Some call it the small screen. Others simply call it mobile television (MTV). But everyone agrees, it represents a huge opportunity.

2006 is the year that carriers, content providers and marketers are sitting up, taking notice and starting to experiment and invest in mobile television initiatives.

"eMarketer looked at the various global trials, carrier and content provider announcements and concluded that there will be well over 100 million active users of paid or sponsored mobile broadcast video services globally by the end of 2009," says John du Pre Gauntt, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new report, Mobile Television for Marketers: Monetizing the Smallest Screen. "Of course, that number is easily swallowed by forecasts of well over 2.5 billion mobile users in the same time period."

The demographics, income and spending patterns of early and near-term adopters will be crucial for marketers trying to determine whether mobile TV represents a sub-market or the next huge mass market for mobile services.

"Everybody's basically putting their toe in the water," Leslie Moonves, chief executive of CBS told The New York Times. "We're all aware how hugely significant this is going to become both culturally and financially in the next couple of years."

From a technical point-of-view, the two pivot points for mobile TV are growth in smartphones and growth of advanced 3G networks. These are table stakes to move mobile TV past the pilot stage toward critical mass and finally mass-market penetration.

Estimates of global subscriber numbers on 3G networks showed wide disparity. ABI Research reported 2005 global figures to be 42 million.

Informa Telecoms & Media put the 2005 figure over 70 million.

"Hand-in-hand with technical obstacles, mobile TV players must work the commercial side of the equation," says Mr. Gauntt. "Marketers shouldn't believe for a minute that either the mobile carriers or the content providers have cracked the business model, let alone the digital rights issues that will be crucial to migrate mobile TV from one market stage to the next."
Carriers are hard at work on the problem, however.

The most extensive consumer trials of mobile TV have been in Europe, with one pilot in France, another in Finland, two in the UK and another in Spain. The general results show willingness on the part of participants to purchase mobile TV services, typically with a low flat-rate fee. Users also demonstrated viewing habits roughly in line with expectations (eg preference for familiar and/or short program offers centered around sports, news and entertainment; viewing during non-peak hours; viewing during both the commute and at home).

"Perhaps most importantly, customer surveys consistently show reticence on the part of consumers to pay more than $5 - 10 extra per month for mobile data services in general," says Mr. Gauntt. "With all the hype about $0.99 news pieces, $1.99 episodes of broadcast television or all-you-can-eat monthly subscriptions, the danger of users receiving phone bills as thick as phone books is very real."

Learn about opportunities, and where the problem lie, read the new eMarketer report, Mobile Television for Marketers: Monetizing the Smallest Screen.

UNDERSTANDING THE 'GENERATION WIRELESS' DEMOGRAPHIC

UNDERSTANDING THE 'GENERATION WIRELESS' DEMOGRAPHIC

The Nearly Bionic Relationship of Teenagers and Their Cellphones
March 21, 2006


By Bradley Johnson
LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com) -- A majority -- 57% -- of teens aged 13-17 now have a cellphone, but that’s far below the 80% of adults 18-plus who own a phone. Still, for a glimpse of the future, look no further than Generation Wireless.

Cellphone users aged 13-17 are connected to their phones by ear, eye and touch like no other age group. They are far more likely than other demographic groups to use a broad range of cellphone data services, and they will be first in line to try emerging offerings like cellphone TV.
'Crazy for mobile'“They’re crazy for mobile,” said Mark Donovan, VP-senior analyst with M:Metrics, a research firm that tracks wireless content and applications. “They see [a phone] as this little digital communicator that they can take with them wherever they go.”

Their young-adult peers -- aged 18-24 -- are more likely than younger teens to snap cellphone pictures and buy ringtones, according to M:Metrics data. But for most wireless content and features, young users are the biggest enthusiasts.

Generation Wireless has been a digital demo from birth, growing up after the dawn of cellular (the first U.S. service went live in 1983) and with the Internet (the first major Web browser debuted in 1993).

Rite of passageGetting a cellphone is a rite of passage for teens. Just 12% of children aged 8-12 have a wireless phone, but that jumps to nearly half -- 49% -- for ages 13-15, according to a Harris Interactive youth survey last year. By ages 18-21, cellphone penetration (81%) is in line with the average for all adults (80%).

The top reason teens cite for getting a cellphone is safety, according to Telephia, a market research firm. That’s not surprising: Parents decide when their children go wireless. “Parents love kids to have mobile phones,” said Glen LeBlanc, research director for wireless services at NPD Group. “It’s an electronic leash.”

Parents pick their children’s wireless service in about two-thirds (68%) of cases, Telephia said. Family plans are the standard; 62% of teens aged 13-17 are on a family plan for wireless, according to NPD’s Mobile Consumer Track. NPD said another 15% of teens use a prepaid phone -- such as TracFone, Virgin, Boost or T-Mobile To Go -- that effectively caps their use.
Parents foot the billMost of the time, mom and dad foot the bill for wireless. That gives parents more reason to set limits on data features, such as text messaging, which carry tolls. “I have to believe that in households across the nation, there are ongoing negotiations about what’s appropriate to do with your cellphone,” said M:Metrics’ Mr. Donovan.

But there’s no denying that the biggest users of premium wireless features -- messaging, game downloads, photo services, sports information, entertainment news -- are young consumers having fun at someone else’s expense. Among children aged 13-17 -- the heaviest overall users of such services -- just 18% pay for their cell service, said Mr. LeBlanc. Among the second heaviest users -- 18-24 -- 38% pay the bills.

Teens aged 13-17 are three times as likely as the average cellphone owner to use their phones to access shopping guides and content from men’s and women’s magazines, according to M:Metrics. They use phone features to get restaurant and movie info at more than twice the national average.

Interest in live TVHigher bills could be ahead as young cellphone users show the most interest in emerging services. For those aged 13-17, about 17% say they are somewhat or very likely to subscribe to a live TV service, according to M:Metrics; 13.4% of cell users aged 18-24 expect to do so. Interest falls sharply for older age groups.

Will young consumers pull back from wireless when they have to pay? Not likely. Cellphones are central to a generation that stays connected at all times to friends, family and the world. “It’s going to be amazing to watch these people grow up,” said Mr. Donovan. “It’s going to be a mix of ruling the world and playing videogames.” Not necessarily in that order.

http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=48342

College Grads March To A New Beat

College Grads March To A New Beat

The recently issued Y2M: eGrad 2005 College Graduate Survey concludes that new technologies and explosive growth in Internet usage are rapidly changing the buying habits and needs of college graduates. The study found that the top planned purchases upon graduation are professional clothing, travel/airline ticket, health insurance and furniture.

Additional areas of interest to this community, as determined by the study, include:
Though 74 percent of grads already own cars, more than a third plan to purchase a new vehicle within 12 months of graduation.

Nearly 30 percent plan to find a new credit card within a year of graduating, and will look to cards with no annual fees, low interest rates and rewards programs.

Online purchasers rose from 21 percent of respondents to nearly 80 percent. Seventy-one percent are active online banking users, while nearly half regularly download music from the Internet.

Sixty nine percent have posted a resume online. The bulk of these posting were on Monster.com, though postings on CareerBuilder.com showed the greatest year-over-year growth, with an increase of more than 400 percent.

Social networking is replacing many traditional avenues for entertainment and the sharing of information. There is a big shift away from alumni networks, supplanted by social networking sites and the use of instant messaging. Only 32 percent of respondents indicated they would seek out alumni for social purposes.

News consumption online has grown from 20 percent to 78 percent of respondents. Graduate publications, such as alumni magazines, are of little interest to graduates, but 73 percent would like to receive their college newspaper via e-mail.

Dina Pradel, general manager of Y2M, says "Generational changes and the evolution of the Internet from a business and information network to source of media and entertainment are the driving forces behind the buying habits of the new college grad."

http://www.y2m.com/news/060203.html

UNDERSTANDING THE 'GENERATION WIRELESS' DEMOGRAPHIC

The Nearly Bionic Relationship of Teenagers and Their Cellphones
March 21, 2006

By Bradley Johnson LOS ANGELES (AdAge.com)

A majority -- 57% -- of teens aged 13-17 now have a cellphone, but that’s far below the 80% of adults 18-plus who own a phone. Still, for a glimpse of the future, look no further than Generation Wireless.

Generation Wireless has been a digital demographic from birth, growing up after the dawn of cellular and with the Internet.

Cellphone users aged 13-17 are connected to their phones by ear, eye and touch like no other age group. They are far more likely than other demographic groups to use a broad range of cellphone data services, and they will be first in line to try emerging offerings like cellphone TV.
'Crazy for mobile'“They’re crazy for mobile,” said Mark Donovan, VP-senior analyst with M:Metrics, a research firm that tracks wireless content and applications. “They see [a phone] as this little digital communicator that they can take with them wherever they go.”

Their young-adult peers -- aged 18-24 -- are more likely than younger teens to snap cellphone pictures and buy ringtones, according to M:Metrics data. But for most wireless content and features, young users are the biggest enthusiasts.

Generation Wireless has been a digital demo from birth, growing up after the dawn of cellular (the first U.S. service went live in 1983) and with the Internet (the first major Web browser debuted in 1993).

Rite of passageGetting a cellphone is a rite of passage for teens. Just 12% of children aged 8-12 have a wireless phone, but that jumps to nearly half -- 49% -- for ages 13-15, according to a Harris Interactive youth survey last year. By ages 18-21, cellphone penetration (81%) is in line with the average for all adults (80%).

The top reason teens cite for getting a cellphone is safety, according to Telephia, a market research firm. That’s not surprising: Parents decide when their children go wireless. “Parents love kids to have mobile phones,” said Glen LeBlanc, research director for wireless services at NPD Group. “It’s an electronic leash.”

Parents pick their children’s wireless service in about two-thirds (68%) of cases, Telephia said. Family plans are the standard; 62% of teens aged 13-17 are on a family plan for wireless, according to NPD’s Mobile Consumer Track. NPD said another 15% of teens use a prepaid phone -- such as TracFone, Virgin, Boost or T-Mobile To Go -- that effectively caps their use.
Parents foot the billMost of the time, mom and dad foot the bill for wireless. That gives parents more reason to set limits on data features, such as text messaging, which carry tolls. “I have to believe that in households across the nation, there are ongoing negotiations about what’s appropriate to do with your cellphone,” said M:Metrics’ Mr. Donovan.

But there’s no denying that the biggest users of premium wireless features -- messaging, game downloads, photo services, sports information, entertainment news -- are young consumers having fun at someone else’s expense. Among children aged 13-17 -- the heaviest overall users of such services -- just 18% pay for their cell service, said Mr. LeBlanc. Among the second heaviest users -- 18-24 -- 38% pay the bills.

Teens aged 13-17 are three times as likely as the average cellphone owner to use their phones to access shopping guides and content from men’s and women’s magazines, according to M:Metrics. They use phone features to get restaurant and movie info at more than twice the national average.

Interest in live TVHigher bills could be ahead as young cellphone users show the most interest in emerging services. For those aged 13-17, about 17% say they are somewhat or very likely to subscribe to a live TV service, according to M:Metrics; 13.4% of cell users aged 18-24 expect to do so. Interest falls sharply for older age groups.

Will young consumers pull back from wireless when they have to pay? Not likely. Cellphones are central to a generation that stays connected at all times to friends, family and the world. “It’s going to be amazing to watch these people grow up,” said Mr. Donovan. “It’s going to be a mix of ruling the world and playing videogames.” Not necessarily in that order.

Source: Ad Age

Consumer Confidence Down But Future Brighter

The February BIGresearch Consumer Intentions & Actions Survey finds that consumer confidence declines three points from last month yet the 90 day outlook brightens as all categories improve from January and fewer consumers contend they've become more practical in the last 6 months.

Some of the leading projection categories provide clues about the consumer marketplace immediate future:

• Confidence in chances for a strong economy declines 44.3%...also down from '05 (47.7%) and '04 (49.4%)
• Those concerned about political and national security issues rise in February to 18.2%, compared to 16.4% last month, though relatively even with '05 (18.0%)
• Fewer consumers have become more practical in the last 6 months, now at 42.2% (down from 44.6% last month), thought an increase from last year (39.2%)
• The majority of consumers say they focus more on needs over wants in purchases (51.5%), relatively flat from January (51.8%) and an increase from '05 (47.4%)
  

Considering the personal and financial attitudes of the consumer:

• 42.8% expect "more" layoffs over the next 6 months (up from 34.4% last month), while those concerned with becoming laid off themselves rises slightly from 4.7% in January to 4.9%
• More plan to "pay down debt" (43.5%) over the next three months, compared to last month (42.3%), though fewer contend they'll pay with cash more often (24.4%) and decrease overall spending (31.5%)
• Last month, 31.4% said gas prices were having "no major impact" on spending, compared to 29.9% this month. In February '05, 48.4% cited "no major impact."

And with regards to retail plans for consumers:

• 38.6% say familiar fashion labels are important, up from 35.9% in '05
• 72.1% say price is the driving force behind their preference to shop a particular store for Electronics, followed by selection (57.2%), location (46.2%), quality (38.6%), and service (27.6%)
• Those in the 25-44 year old age range spent about 5% more than the average for major electronics in the last 12 months, but about twice the monthly average on smaller items like CDs, DVDs, and flash memory

Find more information about the BIG Executive Briefing here. Text taken from Center for Media Research daily Research Brief.

Most Consumers Would Watch Ad For Free TV Download

MOST CONSUMERS WOULD WATCH AD FOR FREE TV DOWNLOAD

Study Finds 72% Willing to Watch Ad on iPod Shows if Sponsor Picks Up Cost

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Broadcast networks like ABC are selling some of their most popular shows on Apple’s iTunes for $1.99, but a new study finds that most consumers would be willing to watch an ad if the sponsor picked up the cost of the show.

And if that model becomes the standard, more would be interested in buying a video iPod.
Incentive to buyThe survey, which explored attitudes toward video iPods, found that 54% of respondents would be more likely to purchase an iPod if TV programs could be downloaded free of charge in exchange for watching a 30-second advertisement.

Among those actually planning to purchase a video iPod, 72% said they would be more likely to download a TV program in exchange for watching an ad. The Magid study surveyed 798 iPod owners between the ages of 12 and 55. Market research firm Frank N. Magid Associates conducted the study.

“It appears that the option to download content of choice for free will dramatically increase interest in purchasing a video iPod, thus potentially increasing video iPod sales and penetration,” the study concluded.

Some free content availableSome free TV content exists on iTunes. The pilot episode of NBC’s “Conviction,” for example, was available for free a week before its first airing.

“We believe that if there’s free content out there, it will get people to buy the machines and sample the content,” said Mike Vorhaus, managing director, Magid Associates. But he added that only select, appropriate content should be offered free of charge and the content should not include music videos.

Web Publishers Predict Increased Spending From Traditional, Brand-Focused Advertisers

Web Publishers Predict Increased Spending From Traditional, Brand-Focused

AdvertisersAdvertising.com's Third Annual Publisher Survey Shows That Branding Is In, Pop-Ups Are Out

Advertising.com, Inc. today released the findings from its third annual survey of online publishers. The study surveyed publishers about their advertising business expectations for 2006. Key results forecast increased spending for online branding by traditional advertisers; increased support for video, rich media and behavioral targeting capabilities; and continued revenue growth from large creative formats.

Findings:
Brand advertising on the rise; direct response still a mainstayAlthough web-based direct-response advertisers are still expected to account for the largest share of online revenue (58.5%), publishers anticipate increased spending from more traditional, brand-focused advertisers. Publishers are expecting over 32% of revenue to come from these traditional advertisers, up from 26.5% in 2005. And more than 40% of publishers are citing branding as their advertisers' main objective, more than a 100% increase over 2005 predictions.

In addition, for the third consecutive year, publishers are predicting CPM pricing to represent the largest share of revenue - up to 45% from 41% in 2005.
Support grows for sophisticated formats

With direct-response dollars generating the largest share of publisher revenue, the number of publishers supporting contextual advertising is increasing - with approximately 67% of publishers supporting this format, up from 50% in 2005. In addition, as increased spending is anticipated from traditional advertisers, publishers are now supporting more advanced, brand-focused creative capabilities:

• Over 76% of publishers support rich media, up from 69% in 2005
• 35% of publishers support video as opposed to 25% in 2005
• Roughly 30% employ behavioral targeting versus 25% in 2005

In addition, more than 43% of publishers now support streaming content. And of those who do not currently support streaming content, 30% plan to add it in 2006.

"Formats like streaming video give advertisers the ability to connect with consumers on an emotional, TV-like level, while behavioral targeting enables them to easily and selectively reach an in-market audience," says Scott Ferber, CEO of Advertising.com. "That unique combination of impact and efficiency is driving more dollars online and publishers are realizing the advantages of these powerful formats."

Text links dominate, pop-ups dwindle

In terms of creative trends, text links are again predicted to dominate, ranking as the most profitable ad unit for publishers. Standard banner ads and large rectangles are predicted to be key revenue drivers in 2006, with 15.9% and 14.6% of publishers (respectively) predicting the most revenue from these sizes. Not surprisingly, pop-ups are on the decline for the first time in three years and are not expected to be profitable.

Methodology: In January 2006, web publishers who were actively working with Advertising.com were asked to complete an online survey about their advertising business outlook for the coming year. Advertising.com's web network includes over 1,000 publishers and reaches more than 138 million unique visitors. Data was gathered from January 9 through January 16, 2006. Of the respondents, 47% were C-level executives, 17% were VPs or heads of sales, and 10% were media planners or buyers.

Consumers hesitate at the mobile technology check-out counter

Purchases deterred by product proliferation and changing technologies

NEW YORK and TORONTO, March 2, 2006 — A proliferation of product choices and rapidly changing technology are the key deterrents for consumers when it comes to purchasing their mobile technologies, according to a survey of 1,001 Americans released today by RBC Capital Markets.

The survey polled consumers who use a cell phone and other mobility devices and found that 45 per cent say too many product choices prevent them from making a purchase decision. The survey found rapidly changing technology deters more than half of potential purchasers (56 per cent) from buying new handheld technologies. Price was the top-purchasing driver for consumers, followed by compatibility with other devices. More consumers ranked compatibility as one of their top three priorities than any other priority. In turn, companies are responding by beginning to produce easier to use devices with integrated functionality.

"With so many single purpose devices in the market, combined with evolving technology, consumers are resisting making a choice," said Scott Collins, RBC Capital Markets' director of U.S. Equity Research. "Our research shows that over time, mobility will be adopted more widely. The mobile evolution has only just begun. Compatibility and convergence will be the key influences on consumer purchases and enterprise product development as we move forward."

The RBC Capital Markets survey was released today at the RBC Capital Markets 'M-Evolution' conference in New York. The conference focused on the global mobility evolution in wireless communications and was attended by Google, Intel, Palm and Nokia, among others.

PRICE AND COMPATIBILITY DRIVE PURCHASE DECISIONS
The survey found concern for price doesn't mean Americans would accept advertising or text messaging to lower their service or subscription costs. Fifty-two per cent said of those surveyed rejected the idea, while 56 per cent were unwilling to trade personal information for discounted products and/or services. Mobile marketers and advertisers should take note 58 per cent of survey respondents said mobile marketing is a nuisance and should be prohibited. In fact, the only exception to consumer's price sensitivity was the willingness by 43 per cent to pay more for a cell phone or PDA that prohibits marketing or advertising messages.

Twenty-nine per cent of respondents who own a PDA, notebook or laptop expressed frustration that their various handheld devices don't work together.

SECURITY AND PRIVACY REMAIN A KEY ISSUE
Americans with post-secondary education place security and privacy as their third priority in making a purchase - ironically, since more than two-thirds of them haven't taken steps (70 per cent) or don't know how to protect information stored on their handheld device (72 per cent).

When asked "what is the issue that most troubles you about mobile technology?" 46 per cent of respondents said "the security of my information and my privacy" was of greatest concern. More than a third (36 per cent) expressed concern about organizations spying on them when using a mobile device.

However, 61 per cent believe that solutions will be found to address identity theft and invasion of privacy, which may explain the relaxed approach to protecting their information on their mobile devices and their prioritization of price in their purchasing decision.

THE "I'LL THINK ABOUT IT LATER" PURCHASE DECISION
In addition to the more than half of Americans that said rapidly changing technology makes them reluctant to buy new handheld technologies, 48 per cent worried products they've recently purchased and depend on will rapidly become obsolete. Forty-five per cent said too many product choices prevented them from actually making a purchase decision and Americans with a high school education or less were significantly more hesitant to buy new technologies because of their complexity than those with post-secondary education (42 per cent vs. 33 per cent).

The RBC Capital Markets survey also suggests the benefits of converging mobile technologies are not yet well understood enough to drive a purchase decision. Three-quarters of those surveyed said, "I am not interested in watching TV programs or movies on my handheld device," and 69 per cent said they do not see themselves using cell phones for musical entertainment purposes.

"Consumers are generally deterred when it comes to adopting the latest integrated mobile devices due to concerns of obsolescence," said Mark Sue, RBC Capital Markets' communications equipment analyst. "As integrated mobile devices become more complex, a significant time lag can persist before the trajectory of growth accelerates. But digital music, video, and web browsing wrapped in an iconic device, may help mobile device makers grab a greater share of an individual's disposable income previously allocated to other consumer electronics."

When asked if they would be willing to pay to have in-car mobile Internet access and computing, eight out of ten Americans stated they had no interest and three-quarters said, "having wireless Internet in my car would be a dangerous distraction." Interestingly, one quarter of Americans said they would check email in their car if they had a device to do so.

Other findings from the survey confirm developments in mobile technology are also testing social and personal norms include:

• Almost 20 per cent of Americans have text-messaged opinions to a person in their immediate vicinity to prevent others near them from knowing.
• Fifty-seven per cent are opposed to adult content being disseminated over mobile technologies.
• Fifty-three per cent believe that the U.S. economy benefits from consumer demand for new technologies.
• One in eight Americans have taken a photo or video of a stranger without their knowledge.
  Democratization of Internet access may be the nascent philosophy behind the finding that roughly 43 per cent of Americans surveyed said wireless service providers should provide free access to Google.
• Having instant access to the Internet anytime, anywhere was cited as priority in life for 48 per cent of those who owned a PDA, notebook or laptop.
• Twenty-three per cent admitted that "Google is part of my every day life and I want access to it anytime, anywhere."

The survey was conducted online by InsightExpress, on behalf of RBC Capital Markets, and details consumers' mobile technology purchasing criteria, needs and concerns, and highlights several opportunities to close the lag time between the introduction of new technologies and customer purchases. The margin of error was ±3.09 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

About RBC Capital MarketsRBC Capital Markets is the corporate and investment banking arm of RBC Financial Group, the global brand name of Royal Bank of Canada (RY: TSX, NYSE), one of the largest banks in North America by assets and market capitalization. RBC Capital Markets is ranked by Bloomberg as one of the top 15 investment banks globally, and has significant debt origination, sales and trading and foreign exchange businesses that operate around the world. Our North American equity underwriting; sales, trading and research business dominates the Canadian market and has established a significant franchise in the US middle market. Both institutional and retail investors recognize RBC Capital Markets for our expertise across the complete range of structured products.

Romance blossoms on the internet, but there is still public concern about the safety of online dating

Romance blossoms on the internet, but there is still public concern about the safety of online dating

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2006 -There is now broad public awareness of the online dating world, and the internet users who are actively seeking dates have found a variety of ways to pursue their romantic interests online.

Some 31% of American adults say they know someone who has used a dating website and 15% of American adults - about 30 million people - say they know someone who has been in a long-term relationship or married someone he or she met online.

While online dating is becoming more commonplace, there are strong concerns in the wider public about the dangers of posting personal information on dating sites and about the honesty of those who pursue online dating. Some 66% of internet users agree with the statement that online dating is dangerous because it puts personal information online. And 57% of internet users agree with the statement that a lot of people who use online dating sites lie about their marital status.

These are some of the main findings in a new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project entitled, "Online Dating."

The survey found that those who describe themselves as single and looking for a partner comprise about 7% of the online adult population. Among this cohort of about 10 million internet-using adults, 74% have done at least one dating-related activity online-ranging from using dating websites, to searching for information about prospective dates, to flirting via email and instant messaging, to browsing for information about the local singles scene.

"Those who are looking for dates have learned to use the internet both as a roadmap for the offline world and as a destination to meet people," said Mary Madden, Research Specialist at the Pew Internet Project and co-author of the report.

Some 11% of internet users, about 16 million people, say they have gone to dating websites and a majority of them say they have had positive experiences and believe their use of such sites helps them to find a better match. A notable number of these online daters have found firsthand that lasting romance can be forged online; 17% of them, or roughly 3 million people, say they have entered long-term relationships or married someone they met through the services.

Another distinguishing feature of the dating scene in the digital age is the newfound ability for singles to "Google" each other or search online for information relating to a potential date before they meet or even agree to meet. Of those internet users who are single and looking for romantic partners, 17% have searched for information about someone they were currently dating or were about to meet for a first date.

"Whether you meet someone offline or online, email and other forms of online communication now play host to some of the most crucial interactions in the early stages of a relationship," said Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist and co-author of the report. Indeed, a substantial segment of single and looking internet users, 40%, say they flirt online, and 28% have used the internet or email to ask someone out on a date.

However, many who use the websites don't take that extra step to follow through with an in-person meeting. Just 43% of the online daters in our sample, about 7 million, said they had gone on a date with someone they met through the sites.

These findings are based on a national survey of 3,215 adults conducted last fall by the Pew Internet & American Life Project looking at the place of online dating in the larger picture of romance on the internet and relationships in America. The margin of error for responses based on all adults is ± 2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Pay-Per-Call Rings Louder With Google

From eMarketer MARCH 2, 2006

Who would have imagined that Google would begin to use an old method of communication to step into the future?

Last September, eMarketer noted the then dawning age of the pay-per-call business, especially as it applied to the small business market. Greg Sterling of the Kelsey Group noted at the time, "Consumers are accustomed to making phone calls to contact local businesses and local businesses are similarly used to closing leads over the phone. A performance-based online medium that delivers calls rather than clicks therefore makes sense for the local market."

Speaking more recently to OnlineMediaDaily, Mr. Sterling pointed out that growth is this market could become explosive as portals get into the act: "It's a mirror of online advertising in general," he said. "If you've got people pushing the product to market, it's going to grow much faster than if it's a purely self-service."

Bill Leake, CEO of Leads Customers Growth, an advertising agency, also in an interview with OnlineMediaDaily, expressed his eagerness to test the service. "Really, the only limitation at this point is how rapidly the portals roll out pay-per-call," he said.

Given the growing number of people using portals -- eMarketer projects 144.5 million users in 2006 compared with 137.6 million in 2005 -- and with Google venturing into this area, the popularity of pay-per-call business can only grow.

Greg Sterling sums up this new development by mentioning the explosive symbiosis that can occur with online and offline marketing working together. "The big theme here is the connection of online and offline," Mr. Sterling remarked to the Journal. "It really closes the loop, and that's the attraction of it for everybody." Now that Google and Yahoo! are involved (Yahoo! began exploring this avenue last year), Mr. Sterling estimates that pay-per-call is likely to be worth $3.82 billion by 2010, a considerable advancement over this year's projections of $60 million.

Because the growth of portals may be the key to understanding the potential of the pay-per-call business, read e-Marketer's report, Portals: The Strong Get Stronger.

Nearly 100% of Publicists Love Surveys

Below is an article from the New Your Times the we loved. Given that all research does not have to be "ground breaking" and the sometimes confirming the obvious can be fun we say let the surveys flow!

Nearly 100% of Publicists Love Surveys

By DEBORAH BALDWIN, March 2, 2006

BET you didn't know: People who own hot tubs have better sex than people who don't.

According to a news release anyway. In a survey, 71 percent of hot tub owners reported that they were "happy with their love lives," while only 51 percent of people without them said the same. "According to respondents," the release declared, "getting into a hot tub increases passion and romance and can lead to better, more frequent sex."

It's probably just a coincidence that this opinion poll was commissioned by ThermoSpas, a company that makes hot tubs.

And it's probably also just a coincidence that people who buy hot tubs tend to be more interested in getting naked than people who lie awake at night harboring other obsessions. Other people obsess about the germ content of their grocery shopping carts. Indeed, precisely 82 percent of respondents in a recent survey said that shopping carts were "among the worst" germ offenders, according to a news release from BabeEase. A nonprofit organization dedicated to improving world health? A think tank concerned with the spread of childhood disease? Turns out BabeEase is a company that makes shopping cart seat covers for germphobic parents of young children.

So it goes: waves of cheerful news releases, propped up with noisy number crunching and "independent" surveys that inevitably tout a product. Blame that journalistic chestnut known as the trend story, the one with the "more and more" phrase up top. With journalists scrounging for statistics to shore up their latest anecdotal observations, publicists are helpfully flooding the zone with scientific-sounding findings.

More and more surveys, you might say. One year the Soap and Detergent Association found that "cleanliness" was the homeowner's top priority. ("Tip No. 1," it advised, "Have the right products ready.") A recent "worldwide" survey commissioned by Ikea revealed that the kitchen is the heart of the home — and more than half of the respondents wished they could get new ones.

Ikea's survey, which came on the heels of one it did on bedrooms, "was intended as an awareness tool," said Wendy Clark, the company's public relations manager for the United States, "a vehicle to talk more about our kitchens, once we have people's interest and attention."
And it worked. In fact Ikea hit the P.R. jackpot, inspiring Jay Leno to invent his own precision statistic. "According to Ikea, 11 percent of people are now having sex in their kitchen," the company quoted him as saying. "Maybe people are having trouble putting their Ikea bedroom sets together."

Is Mr. Leno trying to suggest that some of these surveys are less than 100 percent scientific? Why bring up such a killjoy notion when one might instead savor the vagaries of American life as brought to you by public relations consultants.

Consider:

A survey for Sears concluded that a woman's best friend is her tool kit. "Three out of five women would rather receive an hour of advice from Bob Vila than Dr. Phil," a news release stated, politely sidestepping the question of whether this said more about Dr. Phil than it did about his rival. I'm surprised those women have time to get out their jigsaws, given the distractions of all the collecting they are doing. A survey done for eBay and Country Home magazine found that for millions of women, collecting "is a way of life." And — here's a surprise — 85 percent of respondents said that eBay had made collecting "easier and more fun."

Another eBay survey, also probing the secret lives of women, uncovered a shortcoming among those who remodel. Nearly half said the most difficult part of the process (please sit down) is staying within budget. Spread the word, the release advised: "Many of today's best bargains can be found on the Internet."

Sound like a stretch? You haven't read releases issued around slow news days like the Fourth of July. To the rescue one year came word from a construction industry organization called the Wood Promotion Network. A stunning 78 percent of Americans surveyed had never traveled to visit a patriotic home, a news release reported. And...

...if they were to visit a patriotic home — Mount Vernon, say — they would be interested to learn that these houses were built...

...of wood.

You have to feel sorry for people who agree to participate in these offbeat polls. While other Americans get to weigh in on the future of the Republic, they are stuck answering questions about gas grills.

A propane gas company called Blue Rhino declared last year that over Memorial Day, "in New York alone, more than 12.2 million people will be grilling" — and half of them would run out of gas before their burgers were done.

Luckily Blue Rhino offers more than 1,500 tank exchange locations in the metropolitan New York area. I know this because I read the news release all the way to its inevitable conclusion.
Now imagine getting a call from a group calling itself Cable Movers, whose survey found that "more than half of cable consumers rank getting their TV service hooked up next to getting dinner on the table" — more important, even, "than decorating."

Lots of things turn out to be more important than decorating, depending on who's asking. But more important than a bouquet? "University studies" cited by the Society of American Florists suggested that "the presence of flowers triggers happy emotions, heightens feelings of life satisfaction and positively affects social behavior."

Editors, take note: Mother's Day will soon be upon us.